213 Miles From Shea

The first of the two games the Mets played on Saturday saw them go into a deep hole, and then almost come out of it as the Mets lost 8-7 to the Marlins. Here are key take-aways from the game:

• Muno went 2-3, 2 R. He’s getting a lot of looks early this spring
• Allen 1-4, 2 R, BB, HR, 3 RBI. This year he’s a little farther down the first base depth chart, so early opportunities are important
• Campbell 2-4, R, RBI
• Matz had two clean innings with 2 K’s
• Montero allowed 4 hits and 2 ER, 2 BB over 1.1 innings
• Leather Rocket got one out and allowed 5 earned
• Gee had a scoreless 2.2 with one hit

Stocks on the rise:

• Soup continues to show that he should be that 25th player on the roster.
• Gee has been good so far in camp

Stocks that are falling:

• Tejada had another 0-for something day at the plate
• Leather Rocket had a bad start in a spring where he is trying to be come the second LHP
• With so many starters trying to break in, Montero did not need the start he had

One former Met has made his way to DC, Mike Carp.

He was drafted in 2004 and joined a collection of Mets that had similar talents at the time (like Murphy and Jacobs). Out of the group, Murphy went onto be an All Star. Carp was traded to the Mariners where he played for a few season before being traded to the Red Sox and most recently the Nationals. He has a career .254 BA and a .330 OBP.

This series of articles will take us across every organization in baseball and look for former Mets in the majors and minors to see how they are doing, leading up to a “Former Mets Team” to see how the current Mets stack up with pieces we have all over the place. I am still looking for Mets team members on the Rangers, White Sox and Tigers. If you know any, please let me know!

Two former Mets have gone south on 95 to play for the Phillies: Aaron Harang and Jeff Francoeur, and interesting combination.

Aaron Harang made some spots starts for the Mets in 2013, and last year became a critical part of the rotation. It was the first time since 2007 that he was able to go over 200 innings. This year, the veteran will try to break into the Phillies rotation.

Jeff Francoeur was a hot shot prospect with the Braves. The Mets got him in 2009 for Ryan Church. The man with a smile was traded to the Rangers in 2010 and then signed with the Royals during the off-season. He then later signed with the Giants, then the Indians, the Padres and now the Phillies. Good Luck Partner.

This series of articles will take us across every organization in baseball and look for former Mets in the majors and minors to see how they are doing, leading up to a “Former Mets Team” to see how the current Mets stack up with pieces we have all over the place. I am still looking for Mets team members on the Rangers, White Sox and Tigers. If you know any, please let me know!

Miami! The former home of Jose Reyes! But still the home of three former Mets.

First, the most famous one, Jordany Valdespin. Valdespin, the man right now, broke out with the Mets and while he had a lot of energy and had some clutch hits, he ultimately couldn’t back up his attitude with play, and now he is with the Marlins. It will be tough for him to break through the Marlins as they are stacked with outfielders.

The second one would be Ryan Ried who was drafted by the Rays in 2006 and then signed with the Pirates in 2012. In 2013 the Mets selected him off waivers and then he signed on with the Marlins this year. The pitcher played in 7 games with the Pirates in 2013 and did well, he just never factored into the Mets plans.

This series of articles will take us across every organization in baseball and look for former Mets in the majors and minors to see how they are doing, leading up to a “Former Mets Team” to see how the current Mets stack up with pieces we have all over the place. I am still looking for Mets team members on the Rangers, White Sox and Tigers. If you know any, please let me know!

The Mets won today. But that doesn’t matter.

What matters is Harvey pitched and he looked good. He hit 96-98 mph on the fastball, worked in his slider and curveball and struck out 3 batters over two clean innings. He was pumped after the game, d’Arnaud was pumped, all of Mets land was pumped. Here are the notes to take home from the game today:

• Harvey looked good. Already said, but it needs saying again.
• Syndergaard had one strong inning and one not so strong inning. d’Arnaud felt he was overthrowing in his second inning of work.
• Familia allowed an unearned run with two hits, Mejia allowed just one hit. Honestly it wouldn’t be an outing for Mejia without something on the WHIP.
• Granderson drove in Lagares. Wouldn’t that be great to see on a routine basis.
• Mayberry had a hit and a walk
• Flores had two hits
• Murphy left the game with a bruised hand

Players with Rising Stocks:

• Mayberry continue to shows that he can be a productive 4th OF through the first two spring games
• Flores showed that he can hit

Players with Falling Stock:

• Tejada still hasn’t done much. Today he added an 0-3 performance.
• Flores (yes he’s also rising), but he made an error.

Many Baseball Analysts have been saying for the majority of the off-season that in order for the Mets to do well in 2015, they need bounce back years from David Wright and today’s projection player, Curtis Granderson. Granderson wasn’t terrible last year, but he wasn’t necessarily good either. This year he’s been reunited with Kevin Long and there are reasons to hope that he’ll have a more Granderson year.

2014 Stats: 654 PA, 73 R, 27 2B, 2 3B, 20 HR, 66 RBI, .227 BA, .326 OBP

And let’s take a look at the projections:

PECOTA (BP): 538 PA, 74 R, 18 2B, 4 3B, 21 HR, 63 RBI, .227 BA, .315 OBP
PECOTA (MLB.com): 515 AB, 73 R, 24 HR, 77 RBI, .227 BA, .316 OBP
MLB.com: 511 AB, 72 R, 22 HR, 66 RBI, .237 BA, .322 OBP
ZiPS: 521 PA, 71 R,  19 2B, 3 2B, 21 HR, 60 RBI, .231 BA, .319 OBP
Steamer: 535 PA, 465 BA, 60 R, 20 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 56 RBI, .222 BA, .313 OBP
ESPN: .231 BA, 77 R, 23 HR, 65 RBI

Average: 531 PA, 497 AB, 71 R, 19 2B, 3 3B, 22 HR, 64.5 RBI, .229 BA, .317 OBP

From a quick look, it looks like the models have a modest rise in homers, a significant drop in doubles (so something will have to give, that generally doesn’t split like) and essentially a constant BA and a drop in OBP. There is also a big drop in Plate Appearances. I’m not sure why that is though. It’s either he had an abnormally high PA last year or maybe the Mets rotate a little more in the OF with Mayberry, but I think its more the former.

In all honesty, I would be disappointed with the average stat line out of Curtis Granderson, but it’s way better than  a regression.

The Mets can’t beat the Nationals in a fake game either, as they dropped tonight’s game by the score of 5-4 after a late comeback by the Nationals.

But, like all Spring games, the score wasn’t the important part of the story. The Mets did not bring anything close to a starting roster to the Space Coast Stadium tonight as the Nationals started essentially what could be their starting lineup. If you are standing by a water cooler tomorrow and want to talk about tonight’s game, all you really need to know is:

• Mayberry had two hits against RHP, where he struggled last year, including a homer. More play like that and I imagine he will force his way into the lineup.
• Campbell smacked a homer further solidifying himself as a contender for that final roster spot, which I assume right now is his to lose.
• Colon had a good outing. Two clean innings, 2 K’s. In my opinion, he should open the season. But I would have told you that a month ago.
• Edgin had a clean 1.1 innings of work. He came in with the bases loaded with 2 outs and got out of it. He later walked a batter. For a player though who probably log something near a league leading amount of innings this year, I hope TC monitors how much he is throwing this month.

Players with Stocks On the Rise:

• Mayberry had an impressive debut. He’s slated to be the 4th OF, but he has hefty competition from Kirk and if someone gets injured, he wants to hold that spot rather than a call up.
• Campbell continued to show why he is a versatile part of this ball club.
• Edgin is going to be so critical for the Mets chances this year

Players with Stocks On the Decline:

• Tejada was already an extreme outside chance to be the starting OF this year, despite what the Mets communicate to the media. He hasn’t had a hit through the first two games, had an error yesterday and wasn’t spectacular tonight.
• Ynoa, who really should be getting more attention then he is, had a rough time out tonight in his Spring debut.
• Mazzoni who is in the middle of a crowded bullpen depth battle (as in who will get the call when someone goes down) had a messy outing his spring debut as well.

Tomorrow’s game is the game to watch this week, I’m sad I’ll miss it (how often do you say that about Spring Training?). In addition to it being Matt Harvey Day, where all the attention will go, Syndergaard, Gilmartin, Mejia and Familia will also be pitching. Gilmartin is trying to become the Mets other LHP in the pen, everyone else looks to  have a critical part in the 2015 squad. Lets Go Mets!

Two former Mets find themselves in enemy territory with Atlanta.

John Buck recently signed on the Braves as he continues to find his way back on to a major league squad. He was drafted in 1998 by the Astros and traded to the Royals in 2004. In 2009 he signed on with the Blue Jays and in 2010 with the Marlins. He was then part of the mega trade between the Marlins and Blue Jays to Toronto where he was later traded as part of the R.A. Dickey trade to the Mets. The Mets then traded him to Pirates with Byrd (where we got Herrera and Black). In 2014 he signed with the Mariners, was released halfway through the season and signed on with the Angels before going to the Braves. He put up some solid numbers with the Mets but his Mets legacy will go down as being part of both the Dickey trade and Herrera/Black trade.

Eric Young was acquired from the Rockies for Collin McHugh and brought speed and joy to the Mets. He is a great guy and put up some excellent speed numbers for the Mets, but that was it. He wedged himself into an OF controversy last year as the Mets had 4 OF including Young. Hopefully he finds his way with the Braves.

This series of articles will take us across every organization in baseball and look for former Mets in the majors and minors to see how they are doing, leading up to a “Former Mets Team” to see how the current Mets stack up with pieces we have all over the place. I am still looking for Mets team members on the Rangers, White Sox and Tigers. If you know any, please let me know!

If the season ended today…

…Nothing would be decided because the Mets played one spring training game, but let’s tear the stat sheet apart!

The main story of the game, at least for me, was Wilmer Flores leaving the game after being hit by a pitch in the wrist/forearm area. Terry Collins said it wasn’t a big deal after the game and may return as early as tomorrow. Besides that, it was a normal first week of Spring Training game. Pitchers had short outings and the offense had the upper hand as the Mets beat the Braves by the score of 8-2.

Good Stat Line Performances

• Lagares 1-2, 2B, BB
• Captain Kirk 4-4, R, RBI
• Reynolds 2-3, 2 R, RBI
• Monell 1-3, HR, 3 RBI
• Campbell 1-1, 2 RBI, 2B

It was a good day for the bats. Kirk is trying solidify himself as the additional OF behind Mayberry, and a 4-4 day at the plate does it. Reynolds is trying to lift himself up the SS depth chart, and a 2-3 day at the plate will also do that. Monell is trying force his way into the catcher depth chart behind Recker and his performance starts him in the right direction.

The only downside was Gee’s first inning where he allowed 2 ER. He finished with those two runs and 2 walks over 2 innings. Also leather rocket, although he kept it scoreless, still walked two batters.

In short:

Stock that went up:

• Captain Kirk
• Monell
• Reynolds

Stock that went down: No One. Its the first day Bruh.

It was a good start! Lets Go Mets!

A lot of Mets have made their way up north over the last few seasons, although one on the list below doesn’t really count.

Let’s get that one out of the way first. I’m not sure if technically Jose Bautista counts as a Met or not. he was on the Mets roster for some time, between trades that brought him to Pittsburgh. Do you count a player who never made an appearance with a team? Probably not. Oh well. I got a paragraph out of it.

The two big names the Blue Jays have that used to be Mets are Dickey and Reyes. Dickey was traded to Toronto after winning the Cy Young with the Mets. The traded netted the Mets with d’Arnaud, Syndergaard, and Becerra. Dickey has been solid for the Jays and it’s hard not to root for him. Reyes ended up with Blue Jays after being traded from the Marlins. Although he isn’t the Reyes that he used to be, it is interesting to think about what the conversations around this off season would have been if the Mets still had Reyes.

The Blue Jays still have Josh Thole from the Dickey trade (although no Nickeas who was granted free agency after last season). Rounding out the group is Greg Burke. Burke made his debut with the Padres in 2009 and then returned to the majors in 2013 with the Mets were he put a 5.68 ERA over 31.2 innings. He then signed with the Rockies and this year with the Blue Jays.

This series of articles will take us across every organization in baseball and look for former Mets in the majors and minors to see how they are doing, leading up to a “Former Mets Team” to see how the current Mets stack up with pieces we have all over the place. I am still looking for Mets team members on the Rangers, White Sox and Tigers. If you know any, please let me know!