Idle Thoughts

Cameron for Who?

Yeah, so this was something I expect to see on the YES message boards (I'm not doing the orange linky thing, because no one should go there ever) and laugh off, but when it was mentioned on M+MD and then in passing on Sportscenter, I was shocked. Who thinks this is a good idea? It makes absolutely no sense for the Mets, and even less sense for the Yankees. Thankfully, it was apparently never going to happen, or at least not going to happen once the Mets asked for Wang or Cano. Now, I should be thankful, but it worries me that SUPER SCOUT is looking with hungry eyes towards Wang and Cano. Because what the Mets need is another fifth starter with crappy rates or another middle infielder that doesn't walk. At one of the message board I frequent, a "OMAR GETTING ROBBED!" headline caught my eye. It turns out that it was about Vizquel getting the short end in the all-star voting, but my first thought was 'Great, Omar traded Petit for Danny Kolb or something.' This is the world I live in now. I hate the trading deadline.

Dad Approves

My father is a crotchety Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He hates it when teams don't bunt with first and second and less than two outs. He hates it when they give good hitters the take sign on 3-0. But more than anything, he hates when lefties don't drop a bunt down the third base line when the extreme shift is on. So I can only assume he has been writing angry e-mails to Cliff Floyd and that brought about his bunt today.

Meet the B-Mets, Greet the B-Mets

I am not dead. I am lazy, but alive.

The B-Mets are in town this week, and I have notes!

I may actually even have a proper piece up at some point this week, but somehow that seems less likely.

Sidebar- I got really nice seats, first row, field level. Unfortunately, I was seated amongst the Simsbury Braves little league team. Great, a bunch of rich, hyper screaming ten year olds in Braves hats, running back in forth in front of me every five seconds and begging for someone to throw them a baseball. Meanwhile, their parents sat ten rows back drinking beer and completely ignoring the hellions. I did resist the urge to throw them over the banister and onto the field. And speaking of banisters...

SP Brian Bannister

"Could end up a nice number 3 starter."

I have to admit; I thought Bannister's numbers were a little soft, and live, his stuff doesn't look that impressive. His fastball topped out 85-87 on the probably questionable scoreboard radar, but he could throw his breaking pitches for strikes when he needed to, located well, and changed speeds effectively. The Rock Cats looked consistently overmatched. They were out in front of his off speed stuff, and swinging over his fastball. He threw 7 innings, four hits, no earned runs 6K/2BB. He works really quickly, and has an excellent pick-off move. Picked one guy off and came close a couple other times. He does walk guys, but he is around the plate most of the time. Change-up in the dirt a lot, but when it wasn't he was fooling batters with it. Didn't make any major mistakes, and none of the hits were hit particularly hard, bunch of squibbers. Only got in trouble due to middling corner defense. Probably should be promoted to AAA at some point, just to see how he does.

SS Anderson Hernandez

"Good bat, good glove, good speed, already takes more walks than Reyes."

Hernandez did a lot of little things well. He took walks, swung the bat well, laid down a nice bunt, and made a very nice play going to his right. His arm isn't as good as Reyes', and he's not as fast (though he is fast), but he has some power (.459 SLG). If I knew about this guy, I might have warmed to the Soriano for Reyes rumors that were around last year. If they can convert him to a second baseman, could be a prettty good major leaguer for the Mets. More likely will be traded.

1b Mike Jacobs

"Might be a good hitter, but no threat to Alphabet defensively."

Looked awkward at first base, making an error, missing a throw on a 5-3 double play that was high, but catchable, then lolly gagging after the ball, letting the lone Rock Cats run score from second. Practically caught a chopper in his cup, and was backing up on balls. His batting stats look good (.308, 12HR/48RBI .901 OPS), but not a future gold glover.

RP Luz Portobanco

"Portuguese for Manny Aybar?"

Really, watching the B-Mets is a lot like watching the actual Mets, once the bullpen comes in, all bets are off. Walked two, K'd two, almost killed the batter on his first pitch. Added a wild pitch to the mix. Has a 1.6 WHIP on the year and a K/BB ratio of 1. When reached for comment, Willie called him "effectively wild."

RP Anderson Garcia

"Has some pop."

I don't have much else to add, as I think he threw about 15 fastballs and nothing else. Speed around 93-95.

2b Aarom Baldiris

"Smooth swing, smooth fielder."

I like his stroke a lot, and he looks better than Matsui or Cairo in the field.

LF Jeff Duncan

"Man, isn't he like 30? MONEYBALL!"

Drew a walk, hence the moneyball comment. I have a soft spot for career minor leaguers. Didn't throw the ball to the annoying little leaguers sitting around me.

Sadly, I did not glimpse Yusemeiro Petit, nor did I get him to sign my hat. Further stalking needed.

Victor Zambrano versus the Strike Zone

Now I am probably the least Catholic Italian on the face of the planet, but I am still a big believer in two things-

1. There is no way the Pope should ever be German, and

2. Penance is good for the soul.

That is why I am starting a petition to get the Mets to start Victor Zambrano every Sabbath, so I can do my penance for the week by watching him pitch. I thought with the exile of Al Leiter to Florida, I would no longer be actually dreading watching a starting pitching performance by a Mets Pitcher. Unfortunately, Zambrano continues to carve out his future place as a footnote along side Larry Andersen and Ernie Broglio. So that brings me to my quandary for this post. With Mr. Anna Benson set to return to the rotation, you have a glut of starting pitchers. Specifically, three starters for two rotation spots.

(I am going to try to format this properly, join me, won't you?)

Aaron Heilman

IP H R HR BB SO K/9 WHIP BAA ERA

25.0 22 13 3 5 18 6.48 1.08 .234 4.68

Jae Weong Seo

IP H R HR BB SO K/9 WHIP BAA ERA

11.0 9 4 3 1 6 4.91 0.91 .214 3.27

Shitty Zambrano

IP H R HR BB SO K/9 WHIP BAA ERA

26.1 35 20 3 17 23 7.86 1.97 .324 5.81

Now the only conceivable scenarios I can come up with for anyone thinking that Zambrano should stay in the rotation are as follows:

(A) You are Rick Peterson

(B) You love that K/9 rate, or

(C) You have Jose Guillen on your fantasy team, and you get points for OBP.

I tend to be a youth movement guy myself, and in fairness, when I heard about the Kazmir trade my first thought was, "Well, I like Kazmir a lot, but I think Carlos Zambrano will be a big time pitcher, so take the known quantity."

After that, things get a little hazy. Perhaps a threatening letter was written to Jim Duquette, it is still unclear.

So perhaps I am biased against Zambrano. I do know that he has looked absolutely awful in his starts, and only got his win via the Mets setting their franchise single game home run record.

Now I'm not saying Heilman or Seo are the answers for the backend of the rotation, but they have looked like solid #4 or #5 type guys. Certainly once Kaz Ishii is healthy they will be sent back down to Norfolk. But if they keep pitching well, you can at least showcase them to increase their trade value. Then, maybe parlay them for some bullpen help or the services of a hypnotist capable of hypnotizing Jose Reyes into take a walk. More value there than a good eighth inning guy anyway.

As for Zambrano, perhaps it is time for a DL stint for some "arm trouble." Self-flagellation is more pleasant a penance anyway.

Why I Love Jae Weong Seo (in a manly way)

I don't like to think of myself as too much of a sentimentalist. I am a diehard Mets fan, but I'm a fan of the team before I am a fan of any particular player. For example, I appreciate the years of service Al Leiter gave to the franchise, but I wasn't shedding any tears after he was unceremoniously lowballed. For one, it spared me from having to watch any more five inning, five walk, 115 pitch outings, and for another, I won't have to worry about a young pitching prospect being badmouthed and later traded for being cocky during spring training. (Or this year, fat and unable to throw over 87 mph)

Now there was a time when the loss of a Met I liked would affect me greatly. When I was eight and Gary Carter left for San Francisco, I was crushed. This general goodwill towards my Mets was killed by John Franco in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS. And since then, I have no compunction about unloading a guy who has been a longtime Shea Stadium resident. You do what you have to in order to make the team better.

I do, however, hold a special place in my heart for marginal pitchers that probably really shouldn't get people out with their stuff, but do anyway. I don't know why. Perhaps it is due to my own history as a pitcher who managed to get guys out despite not having much more than a 59 foot sinker, and an occasionally sliding slider. My brethren on the mound hold a special place in my heart.

Jae Seo probably wasn't the worst starting pitcher on a major league roster last year, but I would be hard pressed to say he would have been anything more than a fifth starter on a mediocre or worse team (which conveniently, the Mets happened to be). His scouting report pretty much bares this out.

Yet watching his six innings of competent pitching on short rest this weekend reminded me why I adore the Korean right-hander. He is sort of the M.L. Carr of the Mets; the guy on the bench that always waves his towel when a teammate makes a big play. I watched way too many Mets games last year, and by about August, I had to find new ways to make the constant string of defeats palatable. So I started making it a point to check out who was first up the dugout steps when a Met hit a home run. Invariably, it was Mr. Seo.

This was reinforced by a start he had about the same time. He pitched pretty well, probably 6+, 3 ER, and was sitting on a lead when he was taken out. Of course, if you watched any Mets games last summer you can guess what happened next. Someone, I'm going to say Jose Parra, got shelled, the lead was gone and Seo was looking at a dreaded ND. Now, did he go into a Glavine-like funk? Nope, as the Mets stormed back to retake the lead, he was still first up on the dugout steps, a lone bright spot in a summer of poor performances on the field and even poorer performances off the field.

Perhaps I am just grasping at the straws of a lost season, and no doubt Seo will be back to Norfolk or South Korea soon enough. Perhaps this weekend's performance gave him enough utility to be trade bait for some bullpen help.

And I can't say I won't be pleased when Trachsel and Benson are healthy and back in the rotation, but I am going to miss Mr. Seo. I will always have a soft spot for the guy, even if his ERA+ never breaks 100.

Guess Who's Coming to Right Field?

Mike Cameron is prepared to come off the Disabled List and back into the starting line-up for the Mets by the end of the month. Randolph has said that this means a return to the minors for Victor Diaz. Willie wants Diaz to get an opportunity to play every day. Well, here is a radical thought, Willie, let him play every day on the major league roster.

I am a firm believer in playing the hot hand as long as possible. It is quite possible that by May 15th, Diaz will be hitting .250 and botching balls left and right, but as of right now, he is flourishing in the line-up, despite spending most of his time in the eight hole. He leads the team in home runs, runs scored, OPS and batting average, and now he is minor league bound? The only potential advantage I see Cameron offering is defense, and certainly not enough to make up for the loss of offensive production. I know this is the Mets and there is never a promising youngster that can’t be replaced by an inferior, yet high priced veteran; however, how do you sit the guy with the 5th leading OPS in the league (1.519 the last seven days!). Even if that may not last, Cameron will find a way to get his 150 strikeouts and 25 solo home runs even if he takes a few more weeks off. Until then, let Diaz pound the stuffing out of the ball for a little while longer.

Fool's Gold

Throughout Spring Training games I was bombarded with two things:

1. Very ugly jerseys. (As an aside, I would be thrilled to go the rest of my life without seeing any black in the color scheme of Mets jerseys; however, while I’ve made my piece with that inevitability, I refuse to recognize royal blue and black as an appropriate color scheme for any uniform outside of maybe the Arena Football League)

2. Commercials hyping the NEW METS

Indeed, the Mets fan had a lot to look forward to this year. He had a General Manager who seemed willing to spend New York money on A-list free agents, as opposed to New York money on Jeremy Burnitz and mummified Roberto Alomar, a solid starting five that would be league average or better in their respective slots, and a line-up with some star power mixed with serviceable hands and homegrown prospects prepped for breakout seasons. He was even willing to overlook the fact that there was only going to be one or two actual major league caliber pitchers in his bullpen.

While there might have been some debate on whether Pedro was worth the money, or how well Beltran would hit in Shea, or if Mike Piazza would rebound or regress further, the usual Talking Heads were uniformly excited about the top of the Mets order. And, why not? Jose Reyes was looking healthy for the first time. Matsui had the ‘adjustment’ year under his belt, and was no longer going to embarrass himself at shortstop. And they had speed! They had 50 stolen base speed! Both of them! At the top of the order! Smallball! Are you aroused yet, baseball pundit? As attractive as the Mets 1-2 hitters looked before the season, it would seem that all that glitters is not gold.

A caveat- I love watching Jose Reyes play. He’s just plain fun to watch, as he stretches routine base hits into doubles, steals bases seemingly at will and fills the BBTN web gem section. That said, he doesn’t walk. Ever.

Okay, that’s a bit harsh. If you look at his career numbers, admittedly only 120 games worth, he does walk occasionally. Occasionally is a colloquial expression though, so let’s be specific. He walks about once every 29 plate appearances. At his best, Reyes is probably a .310 hitter, and that’s being liberal. Is he going to be getting on base consistently at a .350 clip? I don’t know if I see it.

With that said, he might make a good number 2 hitter, until you look at his strike out rate, in absolute terms and relative to his walk rate. Is this nitpicking? Perhaps a little. I’m not suggesting he become Brett Butler or anything. I’d take his minor league walk rate at this point. If he gets on base a little more, his speed’s multiplier effect will lead to an exponential increase in runs created.

Of course, while Reyes is not without value at the top of the order, Matsui, hitting in the two hole, is more problematic. He walks more than Reyes, and has marginally better power, but he strikes out a lot for a number two hitter, almost once every five plate appearances last year. If you buy the ‘adjustment’ factor, that’s fine. I personally don’t, but even so, how much of a decrease are you willing to grant him? Out of the box, his strikeout rate is about where it was last year, and he’s only walked once. It’s a tiny sample size, but I don’t know if it necessarily an aberration. He is still valuable (offensively, mind you) and would be fine as a number 7 hitter. He just strikes out too much to be valuable in the two hole. Put Wright there and you get fewer strikeouts, more walks, and significantly more power. I’m not suggesting put Cairo out there every day- apparently baseball punditry is not for those with long memories- but there are some fairly simple fixes that Randolph could make that would make the Mets more effective run producers. And with that bullpen, they’re going to need it.

But that is a topic for another day, and probably several other days.