A Metsian Rundown with 6 Days Left

All of you might very well know all the information I am about to spew, but I figured as the days to opening day dwindle down, I would give an up-to-the-minute rundown of what's going on with our Metsies.

The Mets informed Pedro Feliciano that he would not be on the Opening Day team, and because of new Collective Bargaining rules, Pedro could have either accepted the Minor League assignment or opted out of his contract and looked for a Major League job. Luckily for our left-handed depth, he has accepted the assignment.

David Wright has been swinging the bat well in the cages and will hopefully be playing in Grapefruit games at some point this week, and if all goes well he'll be running out on that field come Monday against the Padres in Flushing.

Daniel Murphy has been playing in Minor League games, and will continue to do so with the hopes he can trot on out there come Monday. He will not play in any Grapefruit games because if he reaggravates the oblique in those then the DL stint cannot be retroactively dated. Hopefully he is out there on Monday, but it is still disappointing that Murph couldn't have a normal spring for a change, now that he has settled into 2nd base.

Travis d'Arnaud, whom I thought the Mets might consider heading north with had Wright and/or Murph not been ready for Opening Day, was finally sent back over to the Minor League side yesterday. I GUARANTEE if he continues to play as well as he has been playing that we will see him by the end of April. Hopefully it all goes smoothly out in Sin City...

Matt den Dekker unfortunately broke his wrist, so any talk of him joining the roster gets thrown out the window (he needed more hitting seasoning anyway.) Luckily he will not need surgery and just has to wear a brace for 6 weeks.

It's Orange and Blue.

With Shaun Marcum's status in limbo, it makes sense that the Mets would look at our old friend Chris Young, who has opted out of his Minor League deal with the Nats.

Yesterday, Dillon Gee, after a few rocky spring starts, fine-tuned himself and kept the Braves hitters extremely off-balance, giving up no runs and striking out 7 in 6 innings of work. I recapped the Mets 7-4 win over at Rising Apple.


And there you have it- some of the more important information coming out of the Metsian universe with 6 days left before Opening Day. 

It's lovely to say that.

It'll be even lovelier to say "5 days..."

And so on and so forth...


Tune into SNY at 1 today for the Mets and the Cardinals.

Here's the Song of the Day.

FIVE. MORE. DAYS. NOW.
LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

This is Why I Love the Spring.

Because when the Mets lose 6-4 to the Division Rival Nats, I could care less. This will still be one of the most memorable spring games in the history of the New York Mets. So many moments which unfortunately cannot be embedded at this time, but MLB and whoever makes the embedding decisions in their ranks was kind enough to include this:



I mean, I gotta say, that has to be one of the most memorable catches I've ever seen somebody make in a Metropolitan uniform. Clearly, not being in the regular or post-season diminishes its affect...or maybe it doesn't. For I, as a fan, and for certainly many other fans, a spectacular play from one of our top prospects while the face of the franchise talks about the direction of the franchise on the air (becoming part of the commentary) was maybe just what we needed. 

Even in a (fake) loss, there were reassurances.

den Dekker just needs to start hitting. Then damn. Center field in Citi.


The Heroes of Spring are variant.

Sometimes it's a stoked 1st baseman, who can't wait to play baseball on a regular basis again, putting the Mets on the board with his first SHOT off live in-game practice.

Or a super-utility player, who's been designated here and there, makin' the most of the shot he has got (combining with Travis d'Arnaud for an aggressive double play at the plate.)

Sometimes it's a 23-year-old natural-hitting outfielder looking to be the first in line if the injuries strike.

Or a submariner who is a wild card because of his deception.


And countless others that will make us one day say to each other, "Hey remember the time...?"

Because for most of these players, the current impression is the most impressive impression, and because of that mindset, the baseball instincts that they were born with shine through like they've never shined before, and might never shine again. 

Who knows what is to come of most of these players' careers. But I appreciate seeing them play their hearts out on February 25th.

Man, I'm so happy Mets Baseball is Back.

PLAY. THAT. BALLGAME.
LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

The Tale of Two Pelfreys and Gee Eats his Beard; Mets and Cards tie 6-6

The least concerning news of yesterday's game to Met fans is that Dillon Gee was caught on camera biting down on his massive goatee. I have not seen it reported yet so I caught the scoop. HA! Take that, Adam Rubin!

Much more important to the future of this franchise is Mike Pelfrey continuing his inconsistencies that have come to define his six-year career. This game (a 6-6 tie with the Cardinals) more than any other in March basically sums up what Pelfrey has become: he is consistantly inconsistent, and in trying to find his identity over the course of 5 full big-league seasons, his identity has become a pitcher who looks lost and bewildered, unable to grasp exactly who he is on the mound.

Pelfrey started out sharply, consistently getting the ball down, having the sink on that sinker that formerly lead to so many ground balls. He even struck out Yadir Molina on a sharp one. I thought to myself for a second that Pelfrey might have turned a corner. Then a runner got on.

The second the opposition starts getting on base, Pelfrey loses all intimidation and composure, as if he completely forgets everything he is working on. This occurred in the 3rd inning, when the Cardinals got their first hit on the day and proceeded to score 4 runs off the Soft Giant. Even in one at-bat, he can look as if he has the best bite in the world on his fastball and the sloppiest, most easily hard hit pitch the game has ever seen. In Bobby Ojeda's words, "At some point he needs a game plan and he needs to stick to it." After the game, Pelfrey talked about his velocity and the strides he's made with his sinker, and how he was pleased with the way he threw, outside of a few moments of letting his guard down. I'm tired, however, of everyone just settling for this mediocrity we get from the man, including Pelfrey himself. It just won't cut it anymore.

There were many positives from this game, however, and none were more positive than the power display shown by the middle of the order. After the Cardinals botched an inning-ending double-play, Ike Davis knocked an opposite-field home run to give the Mets an early 3-0 lead. With no ill effects from the ankle, so far, Ike is beginning to settle in after a slow start to his hitting. His defense continues to be one of the best in the business as he showed us on a great snare of a hard liner down the line in the 6th inning.

I can go on and on about Lucas Duda. Besides absolutely destroying the baseball in the 4th inning for a home run just to the right of center field, he's got a great eye and does what he needs to do to get his barrel on the ball. I love his swing and The Duda has quickly turned into one of my favorite players on this team. I look forward to his continuing progress.

The Duda.

Other takeaways from this game:

• While it was a sloppy one, it was a fun game to watch, with lots of opportunities to practice situations. Neither team, however, could take full advantage of the sloppiness for the win.
• Gary Cohen made the point that Matt Den Dekker has great speed but does not yet have a great first step on the base paths. Another reason (on top of the points I made yesterday) why Den Dekker should start the year in the minor leagues, regardless of his defense and the center field injury situation.
• All the emphasis on pitchers getting the bunt down seems to be working. Pelf executed a perfect one in the 3rd inning. Soooooo....he's got that going for him...
• I used to dread The Bobby Parnell Show, but even though it's spring, I actually have been looking forward to watching him pitch when I see him warming up. He has much better poise than we're familiar with, mixing in his other pitches and not overthrowing his fastball. He looks more mature in his demeanor, making the kind of strides we wish Pelf would make. Maybe Parnell did some soul searching this winter.
• Jon Rauch's fastball isn't quite there yet, but his slider is. He did a good job practicing getting out of trouble.
• Frank Francisco's fastball isn't quite there yet as well, and he didn't get any help from the defense in his first opportunity to practice the save (and practice how NOT to blow a save.) His splitter is there, however, and it looks great. If the fastball comes around, we should be alright. If not, maybe Parnell is indeed the closer of the future. (Maybe? I know this is only spring training, but wishful thinking never hurt anyone.)
• Nickeas is a hard worker, and has fantastic ability for self-analysis. He was interviewed in the latter part of the game, and he said the following in regards to his swing: "I'm trying to shorten everything up...focus on a downward plane towards the ball. I was getting a little loopy towards the end of last year...I'd lose my barrel throughout my swing. Now I feel my direction is in front, the barrel is coming through the zone a little tighter." You can tell why the front office and coaching staff like this guy so much. Hopefully the self-analysis leads to great execution.
• Josh Edgin continues to impress. He keeps the ball down and has great confidence in who he is at this stage of his career. I look forward to his growth, regardless of him making the team or not.
• The crowd was practicing fandom in the 9th and 10th innings, with extreme passion and loudness for a spring training game. Met fans and Cardinal fans kept exchanging "Let's go" chants, getting real feisty. Nice job.

The future of the National League East will be on full display today when Matt Harvey and the Mets take on Stephen Strausberg and the Nats. Don't you wish this game was on TV?

11 more days, folks.

Don't Den Dekker Opening Day; and Other Thoughts on Yesterday

The Mets lost to those Br@v#s by a score 4-9 yesterday. Jon Niese had one of the weaker starts of the spring by the numbers, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits in 4 innings. But this is all relative. Jon Niese does not concern me. What concerns me is the notion of Matt Den Dekker making the opening day roster.

Terry Collins told reporters that Den Dekker is in serious consideration to make the opening day roster (even though he is not on the 40-man). Regardless of it being only a stopgap if Torres and Hairston are not healed, Den Dekker is not even close to ready for the big time. His defense is, but his Average and On Base Percentage have declined from minor league stop to minor league stop, with an extremely drastic difference between A+ and AA, arguably the most important jump outside of to the majors. His OBP went from a solid .362 at St. Lucie to a mediocre .312 at Binghamton. His avg dropped from a modest .296 to a paltry .235, although his Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) was .305 at Binghamton. That means a good amount of the time he didn't even make contact. His strikeout percentage has never been lower than 20%, and last year he struck out just under 3 times for every 10 at-bats. My eyes have told me he needs to shorten his swing if he ever stands a chance as even a serviceable major leaguer.  I can understand if Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson want to give him a little taste of The Show so he strives that much harder to get back there, but I don't think that is a viable excuse. Start him in AA, make him prove he's ready to at least go to Buffalo, and then we'll go from there.

Now that I've vented about Den Dekker, let's move on to another player who might make the team. It sounds like Mike Baxter has a legitimate shot at the bench. This move I endorse. He didn't light it up in terms of average in his 40 plate appearances in September (.235) and his strikeout percentage was a rather high 26%. He does have the ability to get on base, however, with a modest .350 percentage in his time up in Flushing, an important stat in regards to a bench player. Mike Baxter might never be the most talented player on the field, but he will always play hard, something that cannot be measured via statistics. And, of course, it's always fun to root for the local guy.

The Mets take on the Cardinals today on PIX 11. Mike Pelfrey makes yet another start, and he needs to work on....just about everything. You know what Mike Pelfrey needs to do? He needs to get angry. Jeff Francoeur pretty much hit the nail on the head.

GET ANGRY, MIKE PELFREY!!!!!

The Knuckler Knuckles, and Mets Win 8-2

Now less than two weeks until opening day, it is around this time that teams truly begin tightening things up. That was the case for the New York Mets on Thursday, as they beat the Houston Astros by a score of 8-2.

RA Dickey, the only active knuckleballer in the major leagues, was outstanding, pitching one out into the seventh and not giving up a hit until the sixth inning (let’s save the no-hitter for April.) He also got a great sacrifice bunt down at one point, something the entire pitching staff has had to work on. Now, to say the Astros resembled a major league team would be a stretch, with Carlos Lee the only recognizable name in their starting line-up. You have to be on your toes at all times, however, and my favorite player did not let up on the Texas team in transition. He finished his day striking out Lee, but apparently the 80 pitches weren’t enough and he continued to throw on the sidelines.  I love watching RA pitch. I love watching the sequence of his pitches against every batter he faces. He is extremely methodical in the way he goes about his business, and it is a thrill every time he is on the mound. What makes him that much more interesting than the knuckleballers of the past is the way he alternates speeds of his bread-and-butter pitch. And oh, he happens to throw a mid-80’s fastball with bite as well.  RA Dickey is one of my favorite things ever about baseball. He has a book and a movie arriving soon, and I have a feeling those respective items will be some of my favorite things ever as well.

Wandy Rodriguez, the Astros starter, was wild, and the Mets offense took advantage of anything over the plate.  With Andres Torres ailing, Ruben Tejada and his .360 On-Base-Percentage carried the top spot in the line-up. He showed off the muscle he added in the off-season by turning on the second pitch he saw, blasting a home run over the left field wall. I don’t think he’ll ever be a slugger, but a little pop never hurt anybody. Ruben at the top could potentially work, and I don’t believe replacing that aspect of Jose Reyes’ game will add any more pressure to the kid. He’s not going to be a speedster, but all we need is for Ruben to keep improving, get on base and play his game. I believe he has the mentality to do so.

Other takeaways from the game:

• SNY was having some problems at the beginning with their sound. It was as if we were all listening to the radio feed over the broadcast, with Gary, Keith and Ralph a second ahead of us.
• Ike Davis’ 25^th birthday was yesterday, but apparently the Domain Diamond Vision wished him a “happy 30^th birthday.” Uhhh….we have six seasons of awesome 1^st baseman production before that birthday, and hopefully and entire career of it in the Orange and Blue.
• Matt Den Dekker got the start in center field, and it sounds like he will continue on with major league camp for a few more days or so. The kid needs to shorten his swing, for it’s too long to be productive at the professional level, let alone the major league level. He has had a K-percentage above 20% for the last three years, and that has to go down if he is ever to be a serviceable major leaguer. It will be interesting to monitor his progress this season…or lack thereof.
• Lucas “Mayhem” is not hitting like he was at the beginning of camp. The ball is not erupting off his bat like it was and this is leading to more pop-ups. He did start at third, however, and made a great diving stop to his right at the hot corner and proceeded to throw the runner out. It was awesome. I like the versatility Sandy has brought in this year.
• This team will need to maximize their opportunities every time they are presented to them, and they are doing so right now on the base paths. We don’t have Reyes’ speed anymore, but bases can be stolen with great jumps, which Bay got in the 3^rd.
• Omar Quintanilla cleared the loaded bases in the eighth with a double down the right field line. Even though he has been sent to minor league camp, I expect we will be seeing him in Flushing at some point this year. He has a nice, compact, level swing, plays great defense, and with Ronny Cedeño’s paltry offense (.297 OBP last year) Quintallina might be a better option to back up the middle infield.
• The infielder Jordany Valdespin got an opportunity in center field, and on cue the batter hit it hard his way. He made the play soundly. With his bat and his hopefully maturing nature, this might be the way he gets to the major leagues. Captain Kirk Nuiewenhuis is first in line but doesn’t seem to be able to stay on the field.
• Josh Edgin might have only been in A-ball last year, but I like his stuff and his poise. He could be the lefty specialist of the future.
• Turns out Mike Pelfrey had been pitching with an ankle sprain. Doesn’t change my opinion of him. I still look forward to Matt Harvey replacing Little Pelf.
• Ramon Ramirez looked sharper this game than he has been.
• Frank Francisco didn’t get one pitch off that wasn’t hit hard in the 9^th inning. He gave up a two-out run, and all three outs in the inning were bullets to the fielders. Tighten it up, Frank. We need your saves desperately this year.

I truly believe this team is gonna be good. But I can’t convince people. The Mets have to do that.

Less than two weeks, folks.

Pelf Gets Freesed

Yesterday, the Mets lost to the Cardinals 7-1, mostly a byproduct of more miserable Pelfrey pitching.

His stuff was very hittable, and both David Freese and Yadir Molina were able to tee off on him. I get that it's only his second outing, but it's hard not to think to yourself, "Here we go again..." He has never instilled confidence in me when he's on the mound, and I am ready to irrationally rant about getting rid of him. His fastball was treated to the batting practice special. His breaking pitches didn't break. He pitches a boring 90 mph...in fact, Adam Wainright's 87 mph has more pop and life than Pelf's 90 mph. He's boring, in every way possible. His pitching is tiring, I don't like hearing Pelfrey talk about baseball, I just not a fan. Seems like a nice enough guy, but I can't get over his boringness. Yeah, I know that's not a word, but he's so boring that I just invented a word for him.

Here are some other takeaways besides how boring Mike Pelfrey is:

• Beltran is a class act. The hostility towards him by certain Met fans, I believe, is unwarranted. Very weird seeing him in the Cardinal jersey, though, and with that #3. Who's got 15 on the Cards? Jim Edmonds isn't still playing right?.........Oh. Furcal.
• Daniel Murphy did a great job shortening his swing on an 0-2 count to stay with an inside off-speed pitch and hit one through the hole in the first inning. Murph played the full 9 innings, hitting everything like he does and showing us why he needs to get his knee out of the way at 2nd base.
• Bay is getting on top of pitches, leading to too many soft hits on the ground. He got lucky with a chop over the third baseman's head for a double in the middle of the game, but this still has to be corrected. Ralph brought this same point up when Bay hit the double. Speaking of Ralph...
• Ralph Kiner everybody!!! Always fantastic to hear him talk about the old days and compare and contrast them to our current days. He's still so sharp. In his first inning of work, Kiner had this to say about injuries: "In the old days...you didn't tell anybody you were hurt. You played. 'Cause if you didn't play...you would maybe never get back in the lineup."
• Speaking of injuries, even though every baseball team has them this time of year (or all the time, for that matter) because it's the Mets the number of injuries is magnified by the media. I can understand Terry Collin's frustration because, going back to what Kiner said, maybe these injuries are being babied a little bit. They are probably being extra-cautious for normal spring training aches and pains. And I have to say I agree with Keith when he says they are probably due to overdoing it in the off-season. Players used to actually take the off-season off from staying in shape, and use spring training to get into game-shape. But now, these athletes are in game-shape all year round, and that might be leading to more of these strains.
• Great double-play turned in the fourth by Josh Satin at 3rd and Ike Davis at 1st.
• Josh Satin has a big swing, but it's a nice one. It will be interesting to see how he does when he and his huge eyebrows inevitably gets some big league time.
• Lucas Duda has a great swing, and I am sad the Grand Slam against the Tigers the other day was not televised. But I'm sure I'll have plenty of chances to see him hit another one. Duda.
• Lucas Mayhem can certainly hit, he's just gotta clean it up behind the plate a little bit.
• Garrett Olson (lefty getting a chance because of the Byrdak injury) has a great beard. In fact, his beard is better than his control (ZING!!!) (no internet link of his current beard, and his beard was weak pre-Metropolitan)
• Glad I finally got to see Ramon Ramirez. His stuff is nasty. Great zip. Great movement, Got two quick outs before the Cards hit him around a little bit, but I am a big fan of the pick-up. Should prove a good one.
• Den Dekker can really run it down in center field. He's going to be a star if his bat comes around.
• Fantastic diving catch by Juan Lagares for the 3rd out in the 8th inning