Ramblings From Henry and Fayette Streets 

The Week That Was: May 14th – May 20th

The Binghamton Mets went 4-2 over the past week, winning both their home series against divisional rival Trenton two games to one, as well as the first series of their current roadtrip against the Double A Red Sox by the same tally.  The B-Mets offense had two games with over ten runs, a 12-3 decision over Trenton in the rubber match on Thursday, and an 11-7 win over Portland on Sunday in that series rubber match as well.  Saturday saw the first rehab start for Jenry Mejia at the Double A level.  Mejia threw three innings against the Sea Dogs, surrendering one run on six hits in a no decision.  Matt den Dekker extended his hitting streak to 15 games by days end on Sunday, with ten hits (including four doubles) in 26 plate appearances in the past week.  Relief pitcher Adrian Rosario joined the B-Mets from St. Lucie on Friday and quickly made an impact when he earned his first Double A save on Saturday against the Sea Dogs.   

In the standings, although the B-Mets played .750 baseball in the past week they find themselves in the same position in the standings, fourth place behind new front runner New Britain.  They did make up some ground in the race for first however, and now sit only 3.5 games back from the top spot.

At .386, Jefry Marte continues to lead the team in batting average.  Matt den Dekker’s hitting streak has in part helped him to lead the B-Mets batters in many other catagories including runs (29), hits (51), doubles (15), triples (3 – tied with Pedro Zapata for the lead in this catagory), home runs (5), and RBI’s (21).

Starting pitcher Collin McHugh leads B-Mets pitchers in ERA (2.05), wins (4), and WHIP (1.12).  Zack Wheeler still holds the top spot in strikeouts with 45 K’s in seven game appearances. 

Standings

Player Profile – Matt den Dekker, OF

Matt den Dekker has arguably been the top hitter in the Binghamton lineup this season.  As of this weekend, he leads the B-Mets in six statistical categories and his season high hitting streak of 15 games continues.

A graduate of Westminster Academy in his native Fort Lauderdale, den Dekker played center field for the University of Florida Gators from 2007-2010.  In four seasons with the Gators, den Dekker had 262 hits in 844 at bats, good for a .310 batting average and a .481 slugging percentage.  Den Dekker’s Gator’s made it as far as the Final 8 in 2010, where they were knocked out of the College World Series by in-state rival Florida State.  Accolades and honors for den Dekker during his time at the University of Florida included being named to the SEC All-Freshmen Team in 2007; chosen to the SEC All-Defensive team in three straight seasons; two-time All-SEC pick – first team in 2008, second team in 2010; named to All-Regional Team in three straight season, only Gator player to ever make three teams.

Originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2009, den Dekker opted to return to Florida for his senior year and re-entered the MLB Amateur Draft in 2010.  This time around, den Dekker was chosen by the New York Mets in the 5th round, 152nd overall.

He was sent to the Gulf Coast League Mets as his first stop in the Mets organization and has quickly made his way up the ranks.  He played five games in 2010 for the GCL Mets before being promoted to Single A Savannah.  Den Dekker finished out the 2010 season in Savannah, hitting .346 with a .471 slugging percentage.  In a month with the Sand Gnats, den Dekker had 36 hits in 104 at bats, 13 of which were doubles.

In 2011, den Dekker started out the season in St. Lucie.  In 267 at bats, 42% of his 79 hits were for extra bases, including 19 doubles and 6 home runs.  In the field, the defensive prowess he was known for at the University of Florida continued, committing only one error in 62 games in center field.

On June 21st of 2011, den Dekker’s rise through the Mets system continued, and he was promoted to Double A Binghamton.  He logged 72 games patrolling center field for the B-Mets in 2011, adding only one error to his professional career total of four (at that point), in 164 put outs.  At the plate, den Dekker would finish the season batting .235 at the Double A level.  His extra base percentage remained consistent at 42%, and he continued to rack up the doubles as part of that stat with a total of 13 in 64 hits.

Rewarded for his performance in 2011, the New York Mets invited den Dekker to the big league camp for Spring Training in 2012.  In 28 plate appearances with the New York Mets in Spring Training, den Dekker went 4/28 with a double and a triple.

Den Dekker was also listed as the organizations 16th top prospect by Major League Baseball in 2012, a ranking that will only improve with his performance this season.

For 2012, den Dekker has only improved upon his performance last season.  As the leadoff batter for the B-Mets most nights, he has been one of the most consistent hitters in Pedro Lopez’s lineup, evidenced by his current hitting streak as well as the many times he’s mentioned in the statistical snapshots on this page.  With the pace he’s on, and the stats he’s been putting up, the time that den Dekker will be in a New York Mets uniform is sooner rather than later for sure.

Weekly Stat Snapshot

Here’s where the Binghamton Mets stack up against the rest of the Eastern League

Batters

Matt den Dekker – T-1st in runs scored with 29, T-2nd with 51 hits, 1st with 15 doubles, T-1st with 3 triples, T-5th with 5 home runs, T-7th with 21 RBI’s

Josh Rodriguez – continues to lead the league in walks with 24

Eric Campbell – second in the league with a .424 OBP

Pitchers

Zack Wheeler – 3rd in strikeouts with 45, 7th in ERA at 2.15

Collin McHugh – 6th in ERA at 2.05, T-4th in strikeouts with 42, T-5th in WHIP at 1.12

Did You Know?

Every fan of baseball knows the story of ‘Mighty Casey’, the prolific hitter for the Mudville nine.  In the poem that has stood the test of time, the Mighty Casey crushed the hopes of the home town fans when he could not bring joy to Mudville and instead struck out.  That historic fable has been recited thousands upon thousands of times since the it was first written by Ernest L. Thayer and published in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888.  However, did you know, that the ‘Mighty Casey’ was in fact based upon a real baseball player, one that was born in Binghamton?  Daniel Maurice Casey was born on November 20, 1862 right here in good ‘ole Binghamton, New York.  In seven seasons, his baseball career as a pitcher and an outfielder took him from Wilmington, Delaware, to Detroit, then onto Philadelphia, and finally to Syracuse, New York where he ended his playing days as a member of the Stars in 1890.  He never set any records, and ended his career with a .155 batting average and a .516 win/loss percentage as a pitcher.  Mediocre stats aside, Binghamton native Daniel Casey will go down in history as one of the most notable baseball figures ever.

Shameless Plug

This season, the New York Mets have instituted the ‘dynamic ticketing’ that has begun to take the sporting world by storm.  Ironically, at the same time, yours truly’s better half (that would be my wife) is completing her Masters degree in Sports Leadership at Northeastern University, and lo and behold her final project before stepping on the rungs of the leadership and management ladder in the sports world happens to be about dynamic ticketing!  Part of the project is an anonymous survey, and she’s looking for sports fans from across the world wide web to take a couple of minutes out of their day to click a few boxes in regards to their thoughts on this new rave in ticketing.  The link can be found here: https://kwiksurveys.com/?u=NEULDR6995 .  No further contact will be made once you finish the survey.  Thanks in advance everyone in Metsdom!

Attendance Report

Any way you shake it out, the numbers in Binghamton are a bit disappointing this year when compared to years past.  Looking at where the B-Mets are this year after 20 home games in relation to the same number of home games in 2011, attendance is down 25%.  Currently in the Eastern League, the B-Mets sit last in average attendance (1,863), and second to last in percent capacity (31%), with only the Erie Sea Wolves drawing less capacity wise (29%).