N.Y. Mets: Sandy Alderson's "Angle" in the Outfield

From the desk of:   HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

OF - Fernando Martinez

This Former Mets' Prospect Was a Major Bust.

He was said to be a five tool player.  Too bad none of them worked.

NEW YORK METS:

Organizational Summary; Minor League Outfield Prospects.

That's not a typing error.  I said angle, not angel.  What's Sandy Alderson's angle?  Or more to the point, how is he going to upgrade this outfield?


From left field to right, the grounds of Flushing beyond the infield are a veritable no man's land.  Even the guys who run chop-shops across the street from Citi Field's right field gate maintain a more stable living than the list of players who've roamed the grass lands of Citi Field in search of steady employment.  Two of the three Mets outfielders; Lucas Duda, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis; who helped launch the team to first half heights are currently elsewhere.  While Duda's return to the club is eminent, none-the-less, he is back playing in Buffalo.  Kirk Nieuwenhuis is even farther away from Flushing.  He's in Port St. Lucie attending to a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.


Left to man three outfield positions is a consortium of Andres Torres, Jordany Valdespin, Jason Bay, Jerry Hairston, and the recently activated Mike Baxter.  Maybe Mike Baxter is a personal favorite to some fans, and perhaps others have developed a liking for Jordany Valdespin.  That's all fine and well. But truth is, all three outfield positions are in dire need of upgrades - Major, major, upgrades.  And so personal tastes aside, we'll have to say good-bye to some of these players.  If not all of them...?


Lucas Duda is still the number one hopeful.  He was being counted on to increase the Mets power potential this season.  If that was one season too premature for placing such expectations on him, then we're all guilty as charged.  But there are still many people pulling for him, to include the organization. Thing is, when his head is screwed on straight, and he is feeling self-confident, he sweetly takes lefties to left field, and pulls right-handers with power.  But when he's down, he falls like an ACME safe in the desert.


I believe one of Lucas Duda's biggest problems, if not the biggest, was not having any protection behind him in the line-up.  Without Jason Bay, or any other right-handed bat protecting him, pitchers had no reason at all to offer Duda something appetizing, or remotely decent.  That can mess up any hitter's thinking.  Just look how the same scenario wreaked havoc on David Wright, until he readjusted.


The jury is still out on Kirk Neiuwenhuis.  All he is at this point, is a good story; until he got hurt that is.  Somewhere between his jump from AA-Binghampton to AAA-Buffalo, he lost his ability to hit double-digit home runs per season.  Now, injuries have taken a bite out of his season for the second consecutive year.


It is hard to determine what the Mets have in either player.  What Duda and Nieuwenhuis are not doing so far, is showing glimpses of stardom.  That might be unfair to say.  But at least show some consistency then.  They might yet earn another season to prove they are worthwhile players.  But they can just as easily get packaged and shipped in a trade without being terribly missed.  Am I right?


When it comes to Jason Bay, why beat a dead horse?  I know why.  Because he hasn't been shipped off to the glue factory yet.  The money owed him is just too prohibitive to negotiate or push out the door, which has served to paralyze the Mets and Jason Bay in place.  The club has made it clear they will not be eating the remainder of his contract which runs through next season.  The only hope here is the Winter months bring with them a surprise transaction.


Andres Torres must have eaten a lot of Wheaties during the 2010 season.  But the sun shines on a dog's posterior at least once a day too.  However well Andres played in that 2010 season, he never played like that before, and never came close to replicating that season again.  Just speaking on his one year as a Met so far, Sandy Alderson's pick-up has been an unmitigated failure.  There were low expectations for him to begin with.  But something from nothing, still leaves nothing.


Scott Hairston?  Sandy Alderson is holding on to him like a family heirloom.  That's his prerogative.  The Mets still need bench players.  Hairston not fooling any one either.  He is pretty much playing to the back of his baseball card.


That leaves Mike Baxter.  And what can we say about Mike Baxter?  See Scott Hairston.


So now what?  The only players the Mets have under control are the ones in their farm system.  For the moment, anything else is pure speculation.  Whether the Mets continue grooming these prospects for eventual play on the big club, or are just interested in turning them over for eventual upgrades is inconsequential.


For starters, here is a short list of the outfield seeds planted throughout the Mets farmland:

** MiLB Statistics as of August 13, 2012


Brandon Nimmo - Class-A NYPL.
Nineteen years old; Bats left.
He is currently batting .273 for the Brooklyn Cyclones.
In 183 at-bats - 31 runs, 18 doubles, 3 home runs, 25 rbi, .391 obp, .432 slg., 30 walks.

Brandon's is the story of two seasons - before he was inserted into the lead-off slot, and after being appointed lead-off batter.  On July 24th, he finished the day 1 for 3 hitting eighth in the order, and ended the day with a .228 average.  On July 25th, he was inserted into the lead-off spot.  The Cyclones have played eighteen games since then.  Brandon has batted ..375 over that span accumulating twenty-one hits in fifty-six at-bats.  He has raised his season average to a .277 mark now.  Brandon Nimmo is among the New York Penn League leaders in doubles, walks, and on-base percentage.


*


Dustin Lawley - Class-A; South Atlantic League.
Twenty-three years old; Bats left.
He is currently batting .277 for the Savanna Sand Gnats.
In 419 at-bats - 72 runs, 33 doubles, 13 home runs, 61 rbi, .353 obp, .463 slg.

Playing the majority of 2010 in Kingsport, Dustin is up-ticking during a full season with the Sand Gnats.  In 2010, he slugged .510 for the season.  Forty-nine of his 116 hits this season have been for extra bases.


*


Cory Vaughn - Class-A; Florida State League.
Twenty-three years old; Bats right.
He is currently batting .239 for the St. Lucie Mets.
In 397 at-bats - 63 runs, 20 doubles, 18 home runs, 54 rbi, .351 obp, .441 slg.

After a triumphant first season in Brooklyn, offensively, he has stayed fairly consistent through stops in Savanna and St. Lucie; all except for his batting average which has slid precipitously since his Brooklyn days.  He established a few offensive record for the Cyclones in his first professional season.  He should be making the jump to Binghampton next season.


*


Darrell Ceciliani - Class-A; Florida State League.
Twenty-two years old; Bats left.
He is currently batting .283 for the St. Lucie Mets in only fourteen games due to injury.

After a less than stellar showing in Kingsport in 2009, Darrell received a promotion to Brooklyn for the 2010 season.  His .351 season average qualified to win the New York Penn League's batting title.  But things haven't gone as smoothly for him since.  He battled injuries this season, and has only appeared in fourteen games so far for the St. Lucie Mets.


*


Joe Bonfe - Split time between A-St. Lucie and AA-Binghampton.
Twenty-four years old; Bats right.
With A-St. Lucie - .152 avg, 33 at-bats, 4 runs, 1 double, 3 rbi.
With AA-Binghampton - .318 avg, 44 at-bats, 7 hits, 1 double, 4 rbi.

He finished his first two seasons (2009, 2010) in the minors batting above the .300 mark.  After dipping in Savanna in 2011, he struggled early again in St. Lucie this season.  Regardless, he was pushed up to Binghampton where his numbers are now appear up to snuff again.


*


Juan Lagares - Class-AA; Eastern League.
Twenty-three years old; Bats right.
He is currently batting .281 for the Binghampton Mets.
In 427 at-bats - 63 runs, 24 doubles, 6 triples, 3 home runs, 42 rbi, 20 stolen bases, .336 obp.

Juan has been in the Mets possession since the 2006 season.  He finally made his state-side minor league debut in 2007 with Savanna.  Since then, every season has been an incremental uptick through the Mets system.  He now plays for Binghampton, sporting a career minor league .270 batting average.  Last season was his best.  Splitting time between St. Lucie and Binghampton, he batted .349 for the season, and slugged .500 on the nose.  In 471 at-bats, he had 71 rbi.


*


Matt Den Decker - Split time between AAA-Buffalo and AA-Binghampton.
Twenty-five years old; Bats left.
-With AA-Binghampton - .340 avg, 238 at-bats, 47 runs, 21 doubles, 8 home runs, 29 rbi, .397 obp, .563 slg, .960 ops.
-With AAA-Buffalo - .206 avg, 218 at-bats, 31 runs, 10 doubles, 8 home runs, 35 rbi, .241 obp

After raking for half a season in Binghampton, Matt has struggled in Buffalo.  Statistically speaking though, Matt might be the best prospect the Mets have to yet break into the Bigs.


*


That's the extent of what the Mets have in uniform, and under organizational control.  I think it is safe to say, up above and down below, the Mets are lacking a sensational outfielder.  If Sandy Alderson's master plan is designed for the 2013, and 2014 season, these are the Mets we will either see on the big club, or the bodies Sandy Alderson will use in trades.


Good luck with that, Boss.


Plain and simple - The Mets need power production.  Ike Davis is not going anywhere; at least we don't believe.  And the David Wright contract drama is still a bridge we must cross.  So traditionally speaking, the Mets must seek an infusion of power from their outfielders.  The Mets are one of seven National League teams not to break one-hundred home runs so far this season.  They currently rank eleventh in the National League, and twenty-fifth in all of Baseball.


Remarkably, the Mets have scored the seventh most runs in the senior circuit.  They additionally rank third in doubles, fifth in walks, and fifth in on-base percentage.  But when it comes to team slugging, they still remain under .400 and rank tenth in the National League.


In so many games, just a little more power could have provided the margin of error the Mets bullpen woes necessitated.  Offensively, if Ike Davis straightens himself out, and David Wright re-ups with the club, then just one formidable bat in either corner outfield position will do.


Team speed and a lead-off hitter is another conversation.  Or do you like Ruben Tejada leading off?  I would rather he didn't.




Mike/BTB

N.Y.Mets ~ Terry's Kids Complete Sweep of Phillies

From the desk of:   HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

NEW YORK METS:  Ike Davis Sends Philly Crowd Scattering!


Look what injuries have done to the Mets...again.  It just never stops, does it?


Rob Johnson was behind the plate in place of Josh Thole, who is now officially on the seven day DL; and who by the way, Sandy Alderson already stated would miss more games than just seven.  Rob Johnson was also behind the plate due to that pitch Mike Nickeas took on the elbow in Tuesday's game.  No one is saying that - that's just me.


Then after Coach Collins decided to sit Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Lucas Duda against Cliff Lee, the Mets went with the law firm of Rottino, Torres, and Hairston in the outfield.


At least Justin Turner has grown on us by now.  But at shortstop?  They do say necessity is the mother of all invention however.


Dillon Gee did his damnedest to keep the Mets close through the first five innings Wednesday against Cliff Lee.  Heading into the top of the sixth inning, the Phils led 2-1 largely based on Cliff Lee's own infield RBI single in the second.


Andres Torres; of the law firm Rottino, Torres, and Hairston; led off the top of the sixth with a triple off Lee which Shane Victorino misplayed.  Lee then baffled Daniel Murphy with a pair of curve balls for the first out.  David Wright backed up his mate with a flair base hit to tie the game at two all.


Dillon Gee took his turn in the sixth.  And wouldn't you know, Justin Turner turned assists to first for the first two outs of the inning.  But a bloop and a blast so to say, gave Philly the lead again.  Brian Schneider flared a ball to left for a two out single.  Freddie Galvis then blasted a double to score Schneider.  Laynce Nix pinch hit for Lee, and made it a 4-2 game.  For Galvis, it was his second RBI of the night.


But back came the Mets.  AGAIN!  With Cliff Lee out of the game in the top of the seventh, in came Kirk Nieuwenhuis to pinch hit for Rottino, and immediately drew a walk.  Justin Turner drove him home with a double to center.  Turner then had trouble gauging Ike Davis' liner to right field, and got held at third base on Davis' double.  Rob Johnson drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.  In the game came Lucas Duda to pinch hit.  Kyle Kendrick then hit him with a pitch to force home a run.  The Mets pushed across another run on a fielder's choice.


The Mets scored three times in the seventh of Kyle Kendrick to take a 5-4 lead in the game, and came back like they have in every game of this series.


After Tim Byrdak relieved Gee back in the sixth, into the hands of the rest of the Mets bullpen the game went.  Manny Acosta was first.  He posted a scoreless inning, highlighted by a double play and a Hunter Pence strikeout.


In the visitor's half of the eighth, the Mets picked up insurance, and even more runs against Kyle Kendrick, on back-to-back doubles by David Wright and Scott Hairston.  Out came Mr. Manuel, and off went Kendrick.  Too late though.  The second the Phils took out Cliff Lee spelled their doom.


In came El Fossil - Jose Contrearas, who put Nieuwenhuis down swinging.  Justin Turner then lofted a fly to right that Hunter Pence just dropped with Hairston threatening to tag at second.  And up came Ike Davis who made Philly pay dearly for that misplay.  He unleashed a bomb off the second deck facade in right to give the Mets a 9-4 lead.  With the rain falling out of the sky, the fans in Philly needed no more reason to start scattering for the exits.


Next out of the Mets' bullpen was John Rauch for the bottom of the eighth.  He gave up a run.  No details needed.  On to the ninth.


Andres Torres smacked his first home run of the season off Brian Sanchez to lead-off the final frame.  Daniel Murphy followed with a single.  But Sanchez would retire the next three.


Next out of the Mets pen was the yawn inspiring D.J. Carrasco to pitch Philly's last licks in a 10-6 game.  Daniel Murphy threw away an attempt to first base on Jimmy Rollins' grounder.  Carrasco then struck out Juan Pierre.  Shane Victorino popped up to Justin Turner.  Then up came Hunter Pence who jolted one off the right-center field wall to drive in Rollins with a triple.  Placido Polanco stepped up to record the third and final out of the game.


That's what you call a five game winning streak folks.  Not to mention a three game sweep of the rival Phillies ball club in Philadelphia.  And we thought we had troubles!  No Geno's for me thank you.  They make 'em better in Brooklyn.


There you go.  That's how the little engine that could did it on Wednesday night.  And that's pretty much how they swept the Phillies.


Terry's Kids!  How ya' like 'em now?





Mike.BTB

N.Y.Mets ~ Amazins Taking Care of Other Philly Team

From the desk of:   HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

NEW YORK METS:   Bats Pop "Clutch" in Ninth Inning.  Win Second Straight Over Phillies.


No, these aren't the Phillies we're used to seeing.  But beating anyone in a Phillies uniform is always good.  Especially the way the Mets have taken care of the Phils over the first two games of this series.  Filling in for injured Ruben Tejada Monday, Jordany Valdespin's first ever MLB hit was a game deciding home run off Jon Papelbon.  With the way Tuesday's game transpired replete with fielding misplays and errant throws on Philly's part, it looked more like the sort of game we would have lost two years ago.

Miguel Batista..., I know.  But what a job turned in by the much maligned bullpen - 4.2 innings, no runs, and only two hits allowed.  This bullpen lives a precarious existence, but when you look at them, when they've been needed to come through most (sigh), they have. Tuesday marked the second straight night they put the Phillies to bed in convincing fashion.

If you remember, the starting rotation's third time around the loop was a complete fail.  So when you weed out the extraneous stuff, the bullpen is doin' OK, and the Mets are now four games over the .500 mark.  The starting pitching has been consistent, even though they will be pressed with out Pelfry.  And the bullpen is....the bullpen.  Both units haven't really synced up yet.  But when they both hit it off well on the same night, the Mets look really sharp.

Lucas Duda was 2 for 4 Tuesday.  Every time I see him hit one up the middle or go the other way, I want to do cartwheels.  By June, this kid is going to be just fine.  In the absence of Jason Bay, I guess there's room in the outfield for Andres Torres and Kirk Neiuwenhuis after all.  And together, they killed at the top of the line-up, going 4 for 8 and four runs scored.  As a matter of fact, the Mets first four hitters in the line-up all had multiple hits.  The next hitter, Daniel Murphy, would have usually been a lock to make five.

And then..., there's Ike Davis.  He took the collar Tuesday going 0 for 4 on the night.  I still have no doubt he'll turn things around by summer time.  And when he does, if the pitching holds up? - how can you not envision competitive divisional play?

With the way Johan, Dickey, and Niese have been pitching?  They can grow into an in-season big three rivaling those of the National League.  Of course, a only healthy Johan Santana makes that possible.  And Dillon Gee still gives us more depth at the four than most of our competitors have.

Just remember what I always say - You can't win pennants in April, but you can lose them in April.  And the Mets did well to make April a pretty good month when compared to last season.  A good April start guarantees nothing.  But it just keeps your possibilities in tact moving forward.

Tomorrow the Metropolitans will go for the series sweep against the Phillies.  Broad Street is already wounded after losing to the New Jersey Devils and being eliminated from the NHL playoffs.  What do you say we throw some salt in that open cheese steak wound?


Let's Go Mets!




Mike.BTB

N.Y, Mets ~ Healthy Players Means More Slugging

From the desk of:   HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Previous; Pitching ~ The ARMED FARCES of Flushing?

NEW YORK METS:  Swingin' for the (New) Fences.

Scoring runs wasn't necessarily the problem for this team last season.  As concerns go, Offense probably ranks fourth behind the Wilpons; the Bullpen; and the Starting Rotation.  And I'm pretty close to calling the Defense a greater concern than the Offense too.


While the Amazins lacked overall power last season, they still managed to scrap and claw their way on to the scoreboard.  They showed some spunk and displayed a lot of come back ability.  However, while last year's offensive effort was admirable, alas, it was not very formidable.  Having to piece together most of their runs meant their opponents were in almost every game.


That said, the Bullpen also asked too much of the Offense late in games.  The foot bone is connected to the ankle bone and so on..., so the real truth most likely lies some where between the plate and the pen.  But we saw for ourselves, the inability to hold a lead combined with the lack of power/slugging, short circuited the Mets' season.


After a 5-13 start to the 2011 season, the Mets battled to play .500 baseball the rest of the way.  That is not an indication of a lost cause.  The Mets are engaged in a rebuilding process as much as Sandy Alderson chooses not to call it that.  Even then, as presently constituted, the Mets are far from being lost.  With regards to last season, I've long believed, you can't win pennants in April, but you sure can lose them in April.  Would an improvement over 5-13 have helped the Mets last season?  It's a tough call.  The team that started in April was not the same team that finished in September.  But, ..maybe.  Perception wise however, a .500 season would have been more rewarding because it was realistically within reach.


Looking ahead to 2012, Met Fans are hoping the return of a healthy Ike Davis changes the team's  power potential.  And the whole organization is hoping that moving in the fences at Citi Field helps David Wright and Jason Bay with their power output as well.  Throw in Lucas Duda, and these four men, very simply, are expected to hit home runs.  Somewhere between 100-110 home runs would be nice.  I think that's a very fair bar to set.


We know Daniel Murphy is a legit .300 hitter.  And I believe there are .290 batting averages within the bats of Josh Thole and Ruben Tejada.  The only player that is a virtual unknown to us, is our replacement center fielder; Andres Torres.  Much is being made of a season he had two years ago.  Otherwise, this team is very familiar to us.




Catcher; JOSH THOLE

I know Met Fans are divided over our starting catcher.  I fall on the side of favor.  More than that, I am an unabashed supporter of his.  Thole was pressed into service a bit prematurely like many of his current team mates.  He would no doubt have been better off playing in Buffalo last season.  Instead, he played 114 games in the Bigs.  Now I hope this doesn't sound OLD of me - but when I was a kid, if a rookie catcher hit .268, that was considered a success.  His bat will progress ahead of his defensive abilities.  But I feel Josh Thole will just work and will himself into being a better catcher.  I know it sounds sappy and unscientific; call it a man-crush if you like; but I have no great want to replace Thole as the starting catcher.  Like I said above, I believe there's a .290 hitter in him.




First Base; IKE DAVIS

Is he the Freak Who Saves Flushing?  The injury he sustained in the collision with David Wright, AND contracting Valley Fever (?), can only be describes as - Freakish indeed.  If he doesn't stay healthy this season, that means he's walking around with some really bad Karma.  I'm just saying be prepared for a next potential calamity to out-stupefy the last two incidents; that's all.


When we last left Ike Davis the first baseman, he was among the N.L. RBI leaders and dropping absolute bombs onto the center field bridge at Citi Field.  Then the Mets turned him into Ike Davis the Medical Mishap.  All that is behind us now...; we hope.


We know this much about Ike Davis - He is self made.  His production has come with and without protection in the line-up.  At just 25 years old, Ike has given every reason to believe he is a legit clean-up hitter.  Those long arms of his means he can reach for any pitch on either side of the plate, and jack it out of any park.  And before he went down last season, he was hitting .300 as well.

No one knows what happened to Jason Bay.  And theories about David Wright needing more sluggers around him in order to be successful again, are increasingly moving beyond just speculation, and might starting to bare some truth.  We'll see about that.  Point is, perhaps Ike's return to the line-up will also serve to upgrade Wright's and Bay's performance at the plate as well.

David Wright may be the face of this Franchise.  But by season's end, this will become Ike Davis' team; if not sooner.




Second Base; DANIEL MURPHY

He's not an easy guy to talk about.  Once you finish discussing his hitting, his professionalism, and his great attitude, everything else sounds like criticism of a very good guy.  It's unfortunate.  He is really a man with no position.  Left Field; Right Field; Third Base; First Base; and Second Base; - He's tried them all.  On top of that, a misplay at second base landed him on the disabled list yet again.  But like Ike Davis, he's back; or so we hope.

As is with the case of Josh Thole, there is a divide among Met Fans regarding Murphy's usefulness to the team.  He is really a man with no position.  I have never agreed with the Mets' frequent, and highly unsuccessful experimentation with position changing.  The list of players is long, highlighted by giving Jose Reyes a whirl at second base in favor of Kaz Matsui playing short.   Daniel Murphy is just the latest lab rat.


The reason Daniel Murphy is such a conundrum is because he can flat out hit a baseball.  Along with Ike Davis, they can become a fearsome number three and number four hitting duo.  And I guess that says it - I like Daniel Murphy hitting third in this line-up.

However, adventures at second base lie ahead.




Shortstop; RUBEN TEJADA


Let the Post-Jose Reyes-Era begin!  If we can just put our former shortstop out of our minds, we'd feel very good about going into the season with a young kid like Ruben Tejada; that's if you don't already.  He will not steal bases like Jose did.  And doesn't possess the occasional power Jose had.  And he isn't as flamboyant as the Mets' former shortstop was.  As a matter of fact, he didn't just appear over matched, he WAS over matched during his call-up in the 2010 season.  He batted a Mendoza-like .213 in 78 games.

Last season he started changing opinions in the Ruben Tejada conversation.  While still only twenty-one years old, he played in 96 games and finished the season with a .284 batting average.  That's a .071 point increase over his prior season.  In 2011, he proved more patient at the plate than we could have hoped for.  He will take walks and seems as if he will keep his strike out totals under control.

I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do over a full season.




Third Base;  DAVID WRIGHT

To lock-up David Wright long term, or not sign him long term - That is the question.  Whether it is nobler for the Mets to retain him in the hopes they can recapture the David Wright of old - the David Wright of Shea Stadium - or by passing on the third baseman, end their time together with the David Wright who never quite seemed the same again after getting beaned in the head, and the David Wright who lost the mental battle against The Great Wall.  And then will the exit come via a trade, or will they let him walk away the way they did with Jose Reyes?

For now, he is a Met.  And for the most part, he's been one of the greatest Met players in the club's history.  But he is in dire need of a throwback season similar to the '06, '07, and '08 seasons.  We all thought 2010 was the season David Wright got back on track.  It wound up that 2010 was sandwiched between the two worst campaigns of his career.  So, David's new reality is that he now has a lot to prove all over again.

The Mets will tell you they moved in, and lowered the walls at Citi Field to make the park more neutral.  But we all feel it's because David Wright was powerless against the Flushing Fortification in left.  But even to right-center; once a wheelhouse of his at Shea; in Citi Field, many of the same David Wright flies the other way went to die in a fielder's glove.

Additionally, the 2011 season was the most angered we have ever seen our third baseman, not to mention so openly frustrated on the field.

Should David Wright stay healthy throughout the season, but only post numbers similar to 2009 and last year, he will have created more questions for himself, than he has provided answers for.  His time as a Met has indeed reached a crucible.  We all know how a player goes about erasing all shadows of doubt - Produce, and help your team win.




Left Field; JASON BAY

The Mets' 2010 free agent splash turned out to be nothing more than a drip.  I know that's harsh.  But then again, Jason Bay has been brutal.  In kinder terms, he is a shell of the player he was in Pittsburgh, and Boston.  And dare I say, he's been as mystifyingly bad as Roberto Alomar once turned out to be.  In both cases, each player has suddenly, and inexplicably lost their ability to play anywhere near their own personal standards.  And if it weren't for the money invested in Jason Bay's contract, he'd even warrant getting cut.

To his credit, even he has been at a loss for words, but has never shied away from the media.  He's stood accountable for his play the whole time.  And of course, he suffered a major concussion, and never used it as an excuse.

But Baseball is all about the numbers.  In two seasons in New York, he played in 218 games; is batting a collective .252; is yet to reach 20 home runs (18); and in almost 800 at-bats, only has 104 RBI.  That's not what the Mets had in mind when they purchased the outfielder to be a middle of the line-up player.

And sadly, the reports out of Florida do not bode well for the left fielder.  His March was largely unimpressive, and the Media is stoking the "Should he be platooned" fires.  Frankly, it wouldn't be such a bad idea if only the Mets had any reasonable quality on the bench.  But they do not.

A kid like Kirk Nieuwenhuis might not be too far away however.  He just might be ready to make the jump to the Bigs later this season.

The hopes are Jason Bay and David Wright, can both feed off having Ike Davis back in the line-up.  Then Wright and Bay can in turn feed off each other.  That's the perfect world scenario.  For the 2012 season, we just need more - more than we've been getting,  More than nothing, is something.




Center Field; ANDRES TORRES

He is a stop gap player, and finds himself in a Met uniform directly because of front office matters that trickled down and affected the club's ability to field a product more representative of New York City type financial resources.  He is a by the book Money Ball signing, and the only new face in the line-up.  He also has already been hampered with a strained calf.

Frankly, I have nothing too pressing to say about him.  Can he roam center field effectively?  Yes.  Better than Angel Pagan?  Yes.  Are we judging him based too much on a good 2010 season with little else to speak of?  Yes to that too.

Do I want him batting lead-off for the Mets?  No.  In the Mets current state, I'd sooner scour the farm to see if anyone is eager and ballsy enough to want to step forward and take a crack in the Bigs.  But even I know center field is key to being strong defensively up the middle.  I know he's a stop gap player; Torres knows it; and Alderson knows it.  But if Torres can play like his did in 2010..., then perchance to dream.

I guess I'll just have to deal with this for now.




Right Field; LUCAS DUDA

Duuuuuda!  He might move around like Frankenstein out in right field, but he's proving he can hit major leaguer pitching with consistent power.  He too, like Ruben Tejada, looked inept when called up in the 2010 season.  But like Thole, and Dillon Gee, and Tejada, Lucas Duda was pressed into early 2011 service as well.

In 100 games and 301 at-bats, the Big Dude batted a very respectable .292; hit 21 doubles; 10 home runs; had 50 rbi; and to me, walked an impressive 33 times.  That's a good number for raw power kid like Duda.  And he, like Ike Davis, can hit bombs out of any park.  But it's good to see that he isn't showing himself to be too one dimensional at the plate.

The big question would now be, is there a Sophomore Jinx in his future?  Or, can we safely project his 2012 numbers over 550 at-bats?  If he fairs well, he's going to become an even bigger crowd favorite.

*     *     *     *     *

This line-up lacks a quality lead-off batter.  And they lack overall speed.  If anything, they will be plodding base to base; first to third; and from second to home.  On the bright side, as a result, many close plays at the plate will seemingly make for more dramatic Mets' baseball..., no?


Kidding aside, I have no idea how these guys will stand up against the rest of the division.  I do find them all very likable.  But as I pointed out in my Pitching Summary, the Bullpen will largely dictate which direction this team takes.

Last season, the Mets' Offense, kept them alive in many games.  With any reliable slugging, many losses could have easily been turned into wins.  Just ask R. A. Dickey about that.  Returning this season however, will be a few key bats that can very well make a difference; at least more so than last season.  And with that, there's hope for better slugging ahead.



Let's Go Mets!




Mike.BTB