N.Y. Mets: Podcast #109 - Round Table at the Midpoint

Here's our latest episode of 

the RisingApple.com podcast

Rich hosted, with me, Sam, and 

Gary Mack from MetsMusings.com on the panel.

No Stone Left Unturned:

First half review, second half hopes. 

All hail the pitching!

What needs to be done, and who needs to do it.

Terry Collins : Papa Smurf :: Sandy Alderson : Wilpon's money.

What offense?  What about Wright?  Sandy said what?  Japan?

Frank Francisco to Michael Cuddyer bashing.

Vietnam and Duda's gold plated glove.

The 'ol trade deadline let's wait and see routine, 

Parity, legitimacy, transparency, and Ryan Church?

1973 vs. 2015 Mets comparison, the 2009 season, who wore #9,

and much more stuff.

Enjoy, and thank you.

Link to Blog Talk Radio:

Episode #109 - the Rising Apple Report: Roundtable at the Midpoint


I got tomorrow's recap too.  Check back...
Thor vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

N.Y. Mets: The Left Field Money Pit

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

NEW YORK METS: Alex Castellanos can do no worse than Michael Cuddyer, but we won't find out because of Cuddyer's damn contract.

Mets fans knew little of outfielder/third baseman Alex Castellanos when general manager Sandy Alderson signed him as a free agent back in November.

He was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th round of the 2008 amateur draft, and stayed in their organization until July 2011, when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for infielder Rafael Furcal.

Alex split the 2011 season playing double-A ball for both organizations.  In 125 combined games and 475 at-bats he slashed an eye grabbing .320/.386/.573, with 23 home runs and 85 RBI.

He then started the 2012 season at (AAA)-Albuquerque (in the notoriously hitter friendly Pacific Coast League), where in 94 games and 344 at-bats, he slashed .328/.420/.590, with 17 home runs and 52 RBI.

He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers that season on May 31st, subbing for an injured Matt Kemp.  In 16 games, he played both left and right field, and was just 4 for 23 at the plate, with a home run and 3 RBI.

Castellanos returned to Albuquerque in 2013, and experienced a dip in his overall hitting.  In 104 games and 385 at-bats, Alex's slash dropped to .257/.347/.468, but he still produced 19 home runs and 61 RBI.

In October, however, the Dodgers traded him to the Boston Red Sox.  Two short months later he was claimed by the Texas Rangers off waivers.  In March of 2014, Alex was again selected off waivers, this time by the San Diego Padres.

He spent last season at (AAA)-El Paso, where as a 27-year old Castellanos slashed a modest .275/.351/.439, with just 8 home runs and 42 RBI.

The Padres perhaps arrived at the same conclusion St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Texas did before them, which is Alex Castellanos' rate of strikeouts is too high.  In 2,594 at-bats, he has fanned 691 times, or, 27% of the time.  Whatever their reason, San Diego granted Alex his free agency last November.

Now settled in with the Las Vegas 51s, Alex Castellanos, 28, has seemingly regained his stroke.   Entering Thursday night's action, Vegas' clean-up hitter was slashing .297/.369/.590, with 29 doubles, 15 home runs and 51 RBI.  His rate of strikeouts, however, remained unchanged.  He fanned 71 times in 266 at-bats, or, 27% of the time.

In Thursday night's twin bill against the Salt Lake Bees, Alex raised his season average to .309 by going 5 for 6, with 3 doubles, 3 runs scored, and one RBI.

Defensively, Alex has 111 games of minor league experience at second base, 168 games at third, and 483 games in the outfield.  With a .969 FA at second, and an .898 FA at third, his infield glove is obviously far from golden.  He has a combined .986 FA in the outfield.  He's played mostly right field, although left field is perhaps his strongest position.

That got me thinking - despite maybe becoming accustomed to playing in the Pacific Coast League, and his high rate of strikeouts, Alex Castellanos can't do any worse than Michael Cuddyer.

Just saying...



Mike

Are the Mets hitters ready for the St. Louis Cardinals pitchers?

Here's my latest for 

RisingApple.com

NEXT:

St. Louis Cardinals

@

NEW YORK METS

Are The Mets Hitters Ready For The St. Louis Cardinals Pitchers?

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

Friday Recap: Matt Harvey and the Mets Tax Max Scherzer and the Nats

Here's my weekly Friday Recap for 

RisingApple.com

May 1, 2015

Game Recap: The Dark Knight Outlasts Max Scherzer; Mets Defeat Nationals 4-0

Mike

senior staff writer/Rising Apple

N.Y. Mets: Play Ball..!

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

SEASON OPENER

New York Mets

vs.

Washington Nationals

from

D.C.

NEW YORK METS: The 54th Season of Metropolitan Baseball opens in Washington against the National League East favorite, Nationals.

"I wanna walk before they make me run..."  - stuff Keith Richards would say.

Let's get to .500 first!  Then, we can consider this team's play-off worthiness.

I often say, you can't win pennants in April, but you can surely lose them.  The start of the 2015 season is set to play a huge role in the final standings.  Starting Monday, and through May 10th, the Mets will play 26 of their first 31 games against the N.L. East (with 5 inter-league games against the Yankees and Orioles).

Beginning with Monday's season opener, the Mets will play the Nationals 7 times.  The Mets posted a depressing 4-15 record against them last season.  Their mission in 2015, then, is to close the gap.

The Mets will also play Miami 7 times, then Philadelphia and Atlanta 6 times.  A strong start, therefore, would position them in a very competitive situation come Mother's Day.

Once again, I expect the Marlins to be a maddening opponent for both the Mets and Nationals this season.  The Phillies and Braves however, will be locked in a race for last place.

Two things are certain regarding the 2015 Mets: pitching is clearly their strength, and the defense is highly suspect.  

The big unknown centers around the offense.

• The division winning Nationals posted a .253 team batting average in 2014, while the Mets collectively hit a mere .239, which ranked 13th out of 15 teams.

• The Mets were tied for 9th in 2014 with 125 home runs.  The Rockies led the circuit with 186 home runs (but that's because they play in the world's largest pinball machine).  Otherwise, the "windy city" Cubs were 2nd with 157 jacks.  The Nats were 4th with 152 home runs.

• The Nationals placed 3rd with 686 runs scored, 57 more runs than the 8th ranked Mets.

The heart of the Mets line-up will tentatively consist of David Wright, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, and Michael Cuddyer.  Can this quartet collectively hit 100 home runs?  I think it's reasonable.  Likely?  Injuries might dictate that.

That leaves Juan Lagares, Wilmer Flores, and Travis d'Arnaud, potentially tipping the balance between the Mets having a National League top third offense, or an inadequate one.

While Juan Lagares in particular should be credited for drawing walks and posting an OBP above .400 during Grapefruit League play, he is being asked to lead-off, which is a skill and a slot he's not ideally suited to fill.  That being said, I feel there is a lot more to Juan Lagares than meets the eye - just not at the top of the order.

Last season, Travis d'Arnaud said he learned his lesson after a demotion to Las Vegas.  He made a correction at the plate, returned to Flushing, and wielded a productive bat thereafter.  That's the d'Arnaud the Mets need this season.  If he doesn't feel threatened by Kevin Plawecki's ascension through the Mets farm system, he should be.

Meanwhile, the Mets hope Wilmer Flores can compensate for any defensive shortcomings at shortstop with his bat.  Fans are divided as to whether he can do just that.  While his bat is not necessarily in question, pairing him up the middle with Daniel Murphy justifiably raises anxiety levels.



Mike