Mets vs. Nationals Notes
A few random notes pertaining to Tuesday’s spring training contest between the Mets and Nationals …
Dillon Gee‘s beard is weird. It’s downright silly, in fact. He looks like he’s trying out as an extra in a ZZ Top music video. That said, I hope he keeps it and allows it to grow longer.
In all seriousness re: Gee, it’s nice to see his fastball velocity sitting at 88-89 MPH right now — which is mid-season form. It means he’s in shape and ready to go, which means he likely put in some work before spring training began, which means he was motivated to earn the spot in the rotation that was more or less his to lose. In my worthless opinion, Gee needs to be forever motivated, and to work harder than everyone else, in order to succeed in MLB, because his talent is and skill set is below MLB-caliber. I say this as a compliment; in other words, he’s an overachiever. I like that he wasn’t afraid to pitch to contact in this outing, and got quick outs as a result. Gee may not ever be a Cy Young candidate, and he isn’t an ideal choice for a postseason start, but he’s a fighter, he’s smart enough to understand his limitations, and he’s learning to be savvy. My feeling is that good hitting teams will usually beat him, but he will dominate aggressive teams such as the spring training Nats. Of course, hitters tend to be more aggressive in March, but I’d like to point out that yesterday’s game was a an example of how Gee can and will feast on the vulnerability of free swingers. Hey, Tom Glavine won 300+ games with such a strength, and Jamie Moyer may pitch as a 50-year-old thanks to overly aggressive hitters. I’m not saying Gee will ever reach the levels of those men, but I do believe that if he continues to quietly improve, he will be a solid and coveted back-end starter — someone along the lines of a Bobby Jones.
Gee’s diametric opposite was on the mound for the Nationals — Stephen Strasburg, whose raw talent is downright frightening. Yet, the results of Strasburg’s performance were underwhelming. Even though Strasburg’s final line was pretty good — 5 innings, two hits, one run — considering his firepower, anything less than a no-hitter is a disappointment. That, my friends, is the power of expectations. You see this guy throwing lightning bolts and you expect opposing hitters to be completely overwhelmed; it’s a surprise anyone can manage a foul tip, much less a base hit. So when Strasburg gives up a solo homer it’s a stunner. In contrast, we expect to see Dillon Gee allow several hits and a few runs, and when he doesn’t, it’s a happy accident.
Speaking of solo homers off Stephen Strasburg, the one in this game was struck by Lucas Duda. I have to say I’m not entirely convinced one way or the other about Duda, in terms of whether he’ll succeed in 2012. On the one hand, I saw a hitter in 2011 who seemed raw and polished at the same time, and equipped with the tools necessary to be a legit middle-of-the-order MLB hitter. On the other hand, I wonder if 2011 was a Mike Vail-like mirage. Can Lucas pick up in ’12 where he left off in ’11? What happens when NL pitches find his vulnerabilities and adjust to him? Will he be able to adjust back? Memories of Vail, “Super” Joe Charboneau, Kevin Maas, Shane Spencer, Phil Plantier, and other half-season / one-season wonders make me cynical. But, seeing Duda connect against the Nats wunderkind was encouraging to say the least. And a bomb to the opposite field, no less!
Nice to see Ruben Tejada back in the lineup, moving in the field well and swinging the bat freely. He doesn’t look like he’s hurt, so hopefully he’s completely healed.
But as one Met returns, another leaves. Andres Torres left the game with a calf injury that may be worse than a minor day-to-day issue. I think it’s time to move Jason Bay to center; he did it in Pittsburgh and performed admirably. Bay won’t be a Gold Glover out there but he’ll hold his own. The way I see it, if Bay continues to not be the slugger we hoped he’d be, then perhaps the Mets can extract some value by placing him in a more premium position such as CF. I’m convinced he’ll look better than Adam Loewen in the middle of the outfield.
More things happened but I’ve rambled for too long already. What did you see in this game? Post your notes in the comments.
I’m a huge Met fan but I’m afraid they won’t get many wins this year..glenn edwards
As a huge Met fan myself I have to agree — it’s gonna be a long year. But hey, it’s all about managing expectations, right?
The beard can stay so long as he pitches like he did last night. The Dude will be interesting to watch, but, to borrow your line, in my worthless opinion, he differs from those you listed somewhat in that he looks like a hitter with a plan, takes walks, and will go the other way. With his raw power, that approach, and apparently good pitch recognition, he may be better prepared to maintain success at this level.
Good points, you’ve done more homework than me. Let’s just hope the Dude can avoid the fate of those you mention, as it would really help accelerate Fred Wilpon’s “return to prominence”.
Duda’s home run came after what very well might have been strike three. Sometimes, the ball goes your way. Mets seemed to repeatedly lose out there. That’ what little margin of error gets you.
Nice to see a clean game from the pen. I’m with Izzy as to having a youngster play. Also, the team needs to find someone on the waiver wire and/or via that new five day at the end of Spring Training rule as a back-up OF and/or starter. Not enough spare parts there.
1. Regarding Gee. Saying a pitcher has below average stuff is not too damning considering that by definition half of the number 3 starters probably have below average stuff. In any case, I feel you dont give enough credit to an above average change-up. The key for Gee will be staying ahead in the count. If he does that and can limit the walks, I would expect a lot of quality starts and with this offense he may even get 13 -16 wins
2. I feel you are going out of your way to avoid being very complimentary of Duda; probably because, like all of us, you have been burned a lot by being enthusiastic by a potential superstar hitter showing up in a Mets uniform. The facts are that with everything we have seen Duda appears to have the physical tools and the knowledge of the strike zone to be an all star, but we are afraid to voice that for fear of being disappointed. If he has a weakness, it is not all that apparent. As far as his ability to adjust, I observed the following yesterday. The Nationals and Wilson Ramos have faced Duda a lot and probably discussed how they were going to deal with Duda before the game. Duda hit two tremendous homeruns last year with Ramos behind the plate. Fast forward to last night. In Duda’s first at bat, Strassburg struck out Duda with a 97 MPH fastball up and in. On his second at bat, Strassburg tried the same thing, and Duda hit it over the fence to the opposite field. I suspect that Ramos will never again call for a 97MPH fastball up and in.
3. Parnell appeared to have taken something off his fast ball. That is encouraging in his development toward being a pitcher rather than a thrower.
Thanks, I appreciate your comments and your continued loyalty.
I like Gee, but 13-16 wins may be a little over his ceiling. If this were 1978, when back-end starters regularly threw 225+ innings and had 25-30 decisions, I’d be with you on the 13-16 win figure. But in this day and age, anything over a dozen wins is a major accomplishment — heck, King Felix won the Cy Young with 13 wins.
As much as I like Gee, I don’t see him hanging around long enough, in enough games, to earn more than 10-12 victories for what is sure to be a bad Mets club. I think his win total of 2011 had much to do with taking everyone by surprise in the first few months of the year, along with an offense that included Reyes and Beltran, and a bullpen that ended with K-Rod. Gee won’t have the benefit of such luxuries this year.