2010 Spring Training

Should You Be Concerned About Mike Pelfrey?

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Mike Pelfrey gave up 12 hits and 6 runs in 5 innings of work on Sunday, and has allowed 7 homeruns in his last two ST outings. His spring ERA is around 8. Should you be concerned with these numbers?

Not necessarily, but there is some cause for concern. Yes, some of the homers were wind-blown. But, at the same time, it’s pretty difficult to hit a homerun on a ground ball — so regardless of the wind, the fact Pelfrey is giving up so many fly balls is a bit disturbing. The balls in the air not going over the fence haven’t exactly been bloopers, either — he’s giving up frozen ropes. Again, is this cause concern?

Pelfrey will tell you “no”, with the explanation that he is “working on things”. After all, his job in the rotation is secure, so spring training is a good time to try new pitches. Maybe he’s getting ripped on pitches that he’ll shelve before the regular season starts, for example.

Taking all this into consideration, there are still some things that concern me — things I see from the man on the mound, not in the numbers.

For one, I see

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A Tradition No More

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If you haven’t yet heard, the Mets’ stadium in Port St. Lucie will no longer be called “Tradition Field”. Turns out that the stadium’s naming rights were previously owned by a real estate development company based in Tradition (a town near PSL), and they’re having some financial difficulties. I KNOW as a rabid Mets fan … Read more

Evaluating Ollie

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Yesterday you may have seen the Mets – Braves spring training contest, in which Oliver Perez was the starting pitcher for the Mets.

Perez threw four and a third innings before being lifted in favor of Raul Valdez. In those 4 1/3, Ollie allowed 3 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks and struck out 3.

Not a good outing by any stretch of the imagination.

Lurking around a few blogs, there is some buzz that Perez was “getting squeezed by the ump”. Thanks to SNY and DVR technology, I watched every pitch Ollie threw at least twice, and can firmly state that the umpire had very little, if anything, to do with his poor performance.

First of all, the view we see from the comfort of our homes is

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Jose Reyes Back in Action

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If you’re just crawling out from under a rock, Jose Reyes’ thyroid levels have settled to normalcy and the Most Exciting Player On The Planet has been officially cleared for “baseball activities”. I think we can all agree — this is good news, and it’s wonderful to finally receive some legitimately good news out of … Read more

The Situation at First Base

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In Port St. Lucie, there is a “situation” — and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mike Sorrentino find his way into the mix. Because “The Situation” — meaning the Mets’ conundrum at first base, and not some guido from the Jersey Shore — grows more perplexing every day. Originally, first base was Daniel Murphy’s … Read more

Mike Jacobs Catching Again?

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According to Adam Rubin of the NY Daily News: Yes, that was Mike Jacobs this morning, with a bag of catching equipment in front of his locker. Jacobs looks like he’s the leading candidate for the final bench spot with the Mets, and the organization has asked him to catch on a limited basis in … Read more