Results tagged ‘ Nick Evans ’
Looking Good
So far, the Mets Grapefruit League record 3-2. Alone, that isn’t that big of a deal. But the Mets have scored 41 runs in 5 games. Only one game was bad. Here are the scores so far.
Mets 9, Orioles 3
Mets 9, Marlins 0
Mets 8, Cardianls 9
Mets 2, Tigers 7
Mets 13, Astros 1
In the loss against the Cardinals, the Mets were down 4 runs I believe it was in the seventh or eigth inning. They rallied to get on base, then Bobby Kielty hit a three run homer. The Mets rallied for another run after that but fell short. Those are the Mets I remember. Exciting rallies, never giving in, fighting until the very last out.
Right now, it seems there are three spots being faught over with the Mets in Spring Training. Those are the last outfield bench spot, the last bullpen spot, and the fifth starter spot.
For the last outfield spot, we have several candidates. The potentials are Nick Evans, Bobby Kielty, Cory Sullivan, Angel Pagan, Rob Mackowiak, and Jeremy Reed, plus there are some more guys in camp that have pretty much no chance to make the team, like Fernando Martinez. Martinez has been hitting well this spring, but due to the fact that he has been getting hurt in winter leagues and he can only play left field, he may not be called up unless somebody gets hurt. Jeremy Reed came over in the J.J. Putz trade, where the Mets lost Endy Chavez. At the time, he was supposed to be Endy’s replacement. Reed can hit for average but not power, he has speed, can play all over the outfield, and is known for his glove. All of these are qualities of Endy. Because of this, Reed has a very good case to win the job. One thing that he, Sullivan, and Mackowiak all have the same thing going against them: They are all left handed. The Mets bench is full of lefties and is in need of a right handed bat. That’s why Evans, a righty who can also play first base, and Pagan and Kielty, two switch hitters, are all a leg up. Nick Evans is a young prospect who burst onto the scene last season with 3 doubles in his Major League debut. He is expected to become a good power hitter in the future. Pagan is coming off an injury shortened season. Last year he played as the every day left fielder when Moises Alou got hurt and he also batted leadoff while Jose Reyes had an injury. But Pagan crashed into a wall in LA and that was it. Bobby Kielty is my favorite to win the last spot. He has played very well this spring hitting with power off the bench, which is in my opinion a major asset. I’ve also heard he is very good with the fans.
For the last bullpen slot, the Mets may choose not to occupy it at all. They want a right handed bat off the bench and they may opt to have Robinson Cancel, a catcher, on the roster instead of a pitcher this way Ramon Castro can pinch hit more often. If they do decide to carry seven relievers, they want a lefty. Right now Pedro Feliciano is the only southpaw in the Mets bullpen, but if Duaner Sanchez proves he can be an effective reliever again and Sean Green shows good crossover skills, Feliciano might stay in his current position. If not, there are several options including, Tom Martin, who is old, Ron Villone, who is also old, Casey Fossum, who is a good candidate as he can also start or pitch ling relief, and my favorite, Darren O’Day. O’Day is a submariner, so he can fill the void left by Joe Smith. I think having a pitcher with a strange angle like that really helps to trick up opposing hitters. The Mets also traded away Aaron Heilman so they don’t even have a sidearmer. O’Day was acquired in the Rule 5 draft from the Angels, so if the Mets don’t keep him on the roster then he has to go back to LA.
Lastly, the Mets have 4 main options for fifth starter. They are Tim Redding, Jon Niese, Livan Hernandez and Freddy Garcia. Redding is the only one with a guaranteed contract so he can’t get sent to the minors, however if he doesn’t win the fifth starter job then he can be the long man. Niese made three starts in 2008, two of them were bad and he only lasted three innings, but the other one he shut out the Braves for eight innings. He may need some more experience in the minors before he can be a big league pitcher, but I can definitely see him coming up later this year and staying for a while. I predicted earlier that Freddy Garcia will be the Cliff Lee of 2009, but that is only if he can make the roster. Don’t forget, Cliff Lee didn’t have that great of a spring last year, and he barely made the Indian’s roster as a fifth starter. That may be the case here. Garcia pitched in a game with the Mets this spring and got hit hard. Hernandez on the other hand saw 6 batters and got them all out. Right now I think he is the frontrunner. After all, he can also fix the Mets right handed hitter problem.
Anyway, I don’t think that these are very big problems to have. If the Mets choose the wrong guy they can always send him down and calll up someone else. The big thing in Mets Land that people are worried about is Johan Santana. I don’t think his injury is as bad as it sounds. The Mets are just being cautious about him because he is their ace. If he misses Opening Day I don’t think it is a big deal. It’s one game. I do wonder though who will pitch the first ever major league game at Citi Field?
What I Would Do In The Offseason
Free Agents to let go: Alou, Pedro, Tatis, Easley
Resign: Oliver Perez, Rincon, Ayala, Matt Wise (Remember him? He was on the opening day roster but got hurt and came back and played one game and got hurt again and we never heard of him again. But he has GOTTA be better than Heilman at this point, right?), Delgado
Free Agents to Sign: Orlando Hudson, Tim Wakefield, Jon Garland, Teixiera, Manny Ramirez
Trade: Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Castillo, Delgado
Trade For: Huston Street/Bobby Jenks/J.J. Putz, ANY relief pitcher, prospects, middle infielders for bench, cash
I figure outfield would be fixed with Manny and Evans/Murphy would play left if we can’t sign him or if someone gets hurt. You need to resign Oliver Perez, he could fill a huge hole, Rincon and Ayala did nice jobs for he most part. If we sign Teixiera and Delgado we can trade Delgado for someone good like a bench infielder to replace Easley. Street, Jenks, or Putz could obvisiously fill the closer role (forget K-Rod, he will be too expensive, especially with Manny and Tex, and he will blow out his arm), while Hudson could play second and be a clubhouse leader and Garland can join the rotation. I already blogged about Wakefield and Heilman sucks beyond repair, at least he sucks in New York. Sanchez will never be the same, and everybody knows that Castillo needs to go and trade is the only way because of that stupid extension. Unless we release him, but then we won’t get anything back (addition by subtraction?).
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Or how about we just sign Manny, CC Sabathia, K-Rod, Teixiera, and every other big free agent, and then pay for their contracts by winning the World Series! That sounds perfect!
This is What Makes Jerry Manuel Successful
We were all holding our breaths last night, just waiting to see Joe Smith or Pedro Feliciano blow the save. When Eddie Kunz didn’t come in during the ninth inning I thought Jerry Manuel was off his rocker. But it worked. Just like all of the wierd moves he makes for no apparent reason, it worked. And that is what makes Manuel a success as a manager. He makes all the right moves, and he has a great presence in the clubhouse. All of the players respect him, and they all have a great relationship with him, but he isn’t afraid to get down and dirty when need be. Jerry Manuel takes a situation where you have one everyday outfielder, no second baseman, a backstop that is constantly taking turns getting hurt, and a pitching staff that is never has a full 5-man rotation, and he scraps together a playoff-calibur team with a bunch of no-names. Incredible.
2 trades were made in the past days. Adam Dunn was shipped to the D-Backs for 2 players to be named later. There are rumors that Micah Owings might be one of them. And Paul Byrd was traded to the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash. I say neither trade will have an impact, because I predict the Dodgers winning the NL West, the Rays winning the AL East, and the Twins winning the AL Wild Card.
Gary Sheffield was placed on waivers after complaining he doesn’t like his DH platoon role in Detroit. Should the Mets place a claim? I don’t think so. Sheffield has an option for 2009 in his contract, and with Fernando Martinez around the corner, and the emergence of Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans, the Mets just need a rental. Sheffield also has a history of ruining the team chemistry, which throughout the bullpen woes and hitting slumps, remains the Mets high point. I say stick to what you have now. Let the prospects show what they can do in a pennant race, it will have to happen sooner or later. Ryan Church should be back soon so there really is nothing to do. When Wagner comes back the bullpen should be solid again, so I say no worries.
One last note, John Maine was taken off the DL and the Mets optioned down to AAA Carlos Muniz. Maine will start tonight and there is a possibility that he will then move to the bullpen, although I say the Mets rotation will stay intact.
Mets Need to Make a Really Big Move
Over the past few days the Mets have made quite a few moves, placing Marlon Anderson and John Maine on the DL and calling up Dan Murphy and Eddie Kunz. Looking at possible waiver acquisitions like Rich Aurilia, and also scouting out Free Agent Freddy Garcia. The Mets did a lot of things over the weeked in order to improve the club and make a stretch for October. But they did forget one little detail. Getting swept by the Houston Astros is against the rules.
The Mets are not hesitating to call up prospects from the minors, and they are certainly being very bold in that they have no idea how these guys will perform. But you know what? It doesn’t matter how well Nick Evans or Dan Murphy hits, it doesn’t matter how well Eddie Kunz or Jon Niese pitches. It doesn’t matter who you call up from the minors at all. What the Mets need is veteran production. Guys like Brian Schenider need to start hitting. Sure, they were doing great in that 10 game winning streak, but then the All-Star break came and went and they cooled down. The Mets have now lost 5 of their last 6 games. Carlos Beltran seriously needs to pick up the slack. He needs to carry the team on his shoulders. Beltran is a leader on this ballclub, and needs to play like one. Remember back in ’05, Beltran’s first year as a Met? He hit 16 homers. Then he hit something like 25 and then last year the team record, 42. Now he is having a slump year. What will happen next year? Another 25 homer season? Carlos Beltran is way too inconsistant, and he is overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Beltran, but he is just too expensive for this kind of production. I say he needs to be traded. Just think of the players the Mets could rake in, they could get a pitcher or a proven vet, maybe a even a mini-star in his prime, like Jason Bay, and it wouldn’t even cost them any prospects.
This teams needs a change. A really big change. And if they have any hope of making the postseason, that change needs to come now. Minaya made a gigantic mistake not trading at the deadline, now he will need to take advantage of the waiver wire. And let me say this. If the Mets make another collapse like last year, and they don’t make the postseason, Omar Minaya won’t have another chance to win it all. Lets just say he couldn’t take the heat of the kitchen but stuck around for one more cookie anyway.
Prediction: Mets to Remain Silent at Deadline
The Braves just traded Mark Teixiera to the Angels for Casey Kotchman and a minor league pitcher. Glad he’s out of the division.
I do not think the Mets will make a move this trade deadline. With Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese both untouchable. If they do make a move it seems Scott Schoenweis will be the most likely to go. Minaya said he would not include Aaron Heilman in a deal for Brian Fuentas, which I think is a horrible idea. Get Heilman out of here, especially when someone will take him. Fuentas would be a perfect fit fot the Mets, with the troubles Feliciano and Schoenweis have had. He could close out games when Wagner needs rest, and he could pitch the eighth inning because Duaner Sanchez is too inconsistent.
I know the Mets won’t trade Fernando Martinez, and I hope they won’t, but I also hope they don’t stay silent. He could turn out to be a bomb, and with the surprise production of Nick Evans, why not explore the market? I say try and go for Martinez, and Schoenweis for Raul Ibanez and Arthur Rhodes. Of course, you can try Schoenweis and Martinez and possibly someone else for Fuentas and Holliday, but that won’t happen. Maybe Jason Bay?
I don’t think Fuentas or Holliday will be traded. Nor will Manny Ramirez, but Jason Bay could be on the move. I can’t wait to see what happens on Thursday.
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