Just Call Him Up Already
In case you missed it, Zack Wheeler had another great outing on Saturday night. Wheeler, the New York Mets’ top pitching prospect, threw 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball and struck out seven on Saturday for Triple-A Las Vegas. He gave up six hits and walked one.
According to ESPN, over his last three starts, Wheeler has thrown a combined 20 innings, surrendering just three earned runs . He’s struck out 19 in that span, allowing 14 hits. Most importantly, he has walked only three batters. Something has clicked.
It’s time to bring him up. I have run out of adjectives to describe the team’s play: terms like dismal, boring, depressing can only be used so many times before they lose their impact. This year’s team was given little chance to do anything before the season even began, but I don’t think anyone really realized just how bad things would get so quickly. Wheeler is certainly not the answer to all of the Mets’ woes, but together, perhaps he and Matt Harvey can provide somewhat of a firewall, the way Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman did for the team back in 1968. Zack isn’t doing the Mets any good in Las Vegas.
And yes, I disparaged him somewhat in my last post, but I think Wilmer Flores should get called up also.
In their place, I would send Ike Davis and Jordany Valdespin down. Let Ike hit his next 25 homeruns in the PCL so they can trade him next winter. I say this only as a distant observer, but I wonder if being the son of a major leaguer and now playing in the big leagues himself has gone to Ike’s head. I am nowhere near the clubhouse, but he seems somewhat sullen and I wonder if there isn’t an entitlement mentality at work here. Keith Hernandez did hint at that a few years ago. That was a terrible at bat he had in the eight inning of Sunday’s loss. Remember when the Pirates offered the Mets Sterling Marte for him?
Valdespin was hung out to dry this past weekend. He has a lot of talent and I hope that whoever is running the club next spring can reach him. Those long bus trips in the PCL may give him some time to ponder turning over a new leaf.
Set up a Daniel Murphy/Justin Turner platoon at first and let Flores take some reps at second. Since the Mets aren’t going to hit at all this year, I suggest going with defense in the outfield; that means Juan Lagares in center and Mike Baxter in right. I would put Murphy/Turner in the two hole, David Wright in the three spot, Lucas Duda cleanup. For the remainder, whoever is hot can lead off (imagine if that is John Buck!) with the rest of the lineup balanced right/left as best as possible. I don’t think this translates into winning baseball, but it might be watchable, which I would take at this point.
What do you think? Time to bring up Wheeler? Got any other (reasonable) moves in mind? Sound off below.
Mets Game 33: Loss to Pirates
Pirates 11 Mets 2
Not a great day for Jonathon Niese nor the Mets.
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Mets Game 32: Loss to Pirates
Pirates 7 Mets 3
Mets are sunk by the Bucs but still in position to win or tie the series. Of course, they’re also in position to lose the series — but that’s only one outcome out of three possibilities, so, based on the math, there’s reason to be optimistic. Right?
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Mets Game 31: Win Over Pirates
Mets 3 Pirates 2
Mike Baxter does it again.
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Link Roundup: More Harvey
Sure, the Mets lost last night, but let’s keep talking about Matt Harvey! He’s a shining beacon of superstardom who lights up a murky sea of mediocrity. Yes, when Harvey pitches, he not only stifles the opposition, but he seems to make the Mets a better team.
Fangraphs wins the award for best use of animated GIFs for baseball analysis. Look at how remarkably similar Harvey’s pitches are until about halfway to the plate. His curve has a little loop to it, but his fastball, slider, and changeup look the same until they dart off like a Blue Angel breaking formation. When Harvey has the kind of command of his pitches he did on Tuesday night, he’s unhittable. It’s that simple.
With Zack Wheeler seemingly righting his personal ship at Triple-A Las Vegas, it’s only a matter of time (and money) until the young right-hander is recalled to the big club. Along with Harvey, 2013 could turn into the Summer of Aces. Ron Darling talked to Mets Merized Online about the difference between the two young pitchers.
Here are a couple of Mets Twitter recaps from this week, including Harvey’s near-perfect game. I’ve needed to take some time off from reading Mets Twitter during ballgames for the sake of my sanity, but fortunately, there are still some funny, smart people who partake. (@MetsToday and @PaulJFesta, btw)
Last night, Justin Turner played in the outfield for the first time in the majors. Not to take anything away from Turner, who’s hitting .372/.391/.442 in 47 plate appearances, but that pretty much sums up the state of the Mets outfield.
By the way, has anyone noticed how hot Carlos Gomez is these days? The hitter with the lifetime .697 OPS has a 1.106 mark this year. Something clicked for the previously light-hitting outfielder. It’s a shame that these days, as I write something like this, I have to push back the voices in my head that wonder if that something comes in pill or syringe form. Hopefully not.
In any event, Mets Today authors never need PEDs. We run on coffee.
Have a great end of your week and LGM.
Mets Pitching Prospect: Matt Bowman
In many respects, Mets pitching prospect Matthew Bowman is not unlike the hundreds of other young pitchers that have passed under the tutelage of current Sand Gnats pitching coach Frank Viola. Although undoubtedly promising, Bowman, the Mets 11th-round pick out of Princeton University last season, nevertheless lacks the tantalizing repertoire or highly heralded prospect status of say, Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler. The 21-year-old eats as much Chipotle as his meager budget will allow, and suffers no delusions about the daunting odds of a college product in the South Atlantic League making the big leagues. While his unorthodox delivery, slight frame, and dark-haired, boyish looks bear an uncanny resemblance to Tim Lincecum, the reality is that such superficial surface similarities are just about where any realistic comparison between the two pitchers ends.
Yet, there is something about Bowman that strikes a chord with Viola. “Let me tell you, this is my third year back in professional baseball,” he says. “After my career was over, I coached ten years of high school, three years of summer collegiate, and three years of professional. And he’s [Bowman] the first pitcher after all that time, who wanted me to
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Mets Game 30: Loss to White Sox
White Sox 6 Mets 3
At least they split.
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Mets Game 29: Win Over White Sox
Mets 1 White Sox 0
The local boys done good.
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28 Games Later: The State of the 2013 Mets
28 games are in the books in 2013 – 28 embarrassing, encouraging, disastrous, delightful, hopeless and hopeful games. One night, a fan could go from swearing off his beloved Mets for good, while another game brings about a glimmer of hope. But the Mets have given us no reason to believe that 2013 edition of this team will deliver anything more than a glimmer.
The Mets: Wait Until Next Year?
In case you missed it, FOX and MLB Network contributor Ken Rosenthal said last week that the Mets won’t contend until 2015, at the earliest. I am not a big fan of Rosenthal but I agree whole-heartedly with him. Yes, it’s nice to think that things are about to turn around, but that notion is more rooted in feelings and not on facts.
Just pause for a moment and reflect on what has been revealed so far this season about the Mets. They have no discernible strengths. They don’t hit well or consistently. They have no speed. They field poorly. They lack versatility. Three of their five starters can’t get out of the 5th inning. They have no proven LOOGY, set-up man or closer. Their manager is a lame duck and the coaching staff is a collection of empty uniforms. Their owners are among the worst in baseball and the front office is over-rated. All of this adds up to bad, boring and uninspired baseball. It is hard to get excited about a cast of characters that with few exceptions, we have no future with. A recent comparison of this season to the 1983 season makes me laugh. For those of you who don’t remember, 1983 was the last losing year before the run to the 1986 championship began.
I was there in 1983. That team had Darryl Strawberry breaking in to the majors, Keith Hernandez getting dropped onto their laps and Doc Gooden striking out 300 in the Carolina League. Right now, most of the Mets top prospects are either injured or struggling (putting an AAA team in Las Vegas is an unfolding disaster). Even if another Hernandez or Mike Piazza, aka a star player in his prime becomes available, what from the current front office’s track record indicates that they will do anything besides snooze through the opportunity?
Matt Harvey, Jon Niese and David Wright are the only current Mets that could crack any starting lineup. Harvey clearly would be a star anywhere he goes. The other two, while solid, are also being pressed as they need to pick up the slack for drop off behind them. Just look at Wright’s face after he makes an out. Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada, Bobby Parnell, Daniel Murphy and Jordany Valdespin might be able to find supporting roles on some contenders. The first four are on the verge of diminishing returns however, as they enter their arbitration eligible years. The rest of the team probably won’t be in the majors by 2015.
What we are seeing, in my opinion, is the last year of the deconstruction period. The rebuilding starts next year, when the team should have some more financial leeway and if all goes well, Zack Wheeler and Travis d’Arnaud are added to the Harvey, Niese and Wright core. Five decent players is a start, especially if three of them are starting pitchers, but where can they find the other twenty? That’s what makes me think the next winning season is still a long ways off.
There are a finite number of ways to acquire ball players. And right now, none of these avenues look to promising as ways for the Mets to get much better quickly.
•The Farm System: Unless they really fall apart, we should see Wheeler and d’Arnaud playing prominent roles by at least by this time next year, if not sooner. How soon they can be counted on is another question entirely. Plus do you think d’Arnaud could perform any better than John Buck is right now? And who else is out there? Wilmer Flores has been underwhelming so far and he lacks a true defensive position. Josh Satin has certainly hit well enough to warrant some consideration, but we have seen that movie before. I get the feeling that Jenrry Mejia, Jeurys Familia, Robert Carson and Josh Edgin have already flamed out. Looking deeper into the system, Rafael Montero probably needs another pitch and there is no one else in Binghamton worth a second thought, which is disturbing. Noah Syndergaard and Brandon Nimmo are still in A-Ball and at least two more years away.
•Free Agents: The 2014 Free Agent class is probably the worst one in several years. It is deep in back of the rotation starters, which the Mets have plenty of. It is almost bereft of any outfielders capable of being the long-term solution, unless Jacoby Ellsbury or Nate McClouth gets you excited. I really don’t see much value here, except in a few one year deals for cheap replacements for some of the arbitration-eligible current Mets. Would that be progress?
•The Trade Market: And so we come to the area that has created the most angst among the remaining faithful. Buck aside, GM Sandy Alderson has shown an inability to creatively acquire any useful major league parts to date. This is the biggest disappointment of the Alderson era, at least for me. I had high hopes for several canny Moneyball type moves. Instead, it has been a string of failures, most noticeably in the bullpen and the outfield, but everywhere else as well. The inactivity during last year’s trade deadline was dumbfounding and he no longer has an RA Dickey or Carlos Beltran to dangle for prospects. This is the probably the year he gets forced to move some of the aforementioned gang of four. Based a previous soft market on these guys, the returns are likely to be minor leaguers, so he should try to grab a few speedy, good glove types that the home ballpark screams for.
•The Roads Less Traveled:The International Market is also dry this offseason and considering the team’s lack of success in this venue, that is probably a good thing. Counting on the Rule V draft or the non-tender market for serviceable additions is the equivalent of buying a single lottery ticket in the hopes of winning millions. Like the trade market, the team has an extended track record of ignoring the non-tender market anyway. I guess the June Amateur Draft is another option, but I seriously doubt anyone drafted next month is playing for the Big Club next year (nor should they be).
1983 Again? Sometimes I think we are looking at another 1980. If I can end on a high note, they did crawl out the woodwork in 1997 based mainly on some heads-up managing by new manager Bobby Valentine. Rosenthal also reports that the Angels are considering a parting ways with Mike Scioscia. In my estimation, bringing in a proven winner like that might be a good place for the Mets to start with some course adjustments.
What do you think? Sound off below.
Mets Game 28: Loss to Braves
Braves 9 Mets 4
A full day off on Saturday still wasn’t enough for the Mets to recover from their come-from-behind, extra-inning victory on Friday.
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Mets Game 27: Win Over Braves
Mets 7 Braves 5
Mets prove that the Braves’ bullpen is in fact fallible — and Craig Kimbrel is human.
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Mets Game 26: Win over Marlins
Mets 7 Marlins 6
Mets avoid being swept in Miami. Somehow, though, it still feels like a sweep.
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Mets Game 25: Loss to Marlins
Marlins 2 Mets 1
Jeremy Hefner just couldn’t do the job. What a disappointment.
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Mets Game 24: Loss to Marlins
Marlins 4 Mets 3
Took long enough … so much for getting to bed early on a Monday night.
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