Continue reading »]]> Updated Post (April 23 @ 3:00 PM):

Roster move: Outfielder Juan Lagares, who was hitting .346, was recalled from Las Vegas (AAA). Kirk Nieuwenhuis was optioned to the 51s.

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 23, 2013

Original Post (April 22 @ 11:56 PM):

Mets to call up OF prospect Juan Lagares tomorrow?

According to a report by Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets might call up outfield prospect Juan Lagares as early as tomorrow (Tuesday).

Lagares has posted a line of .346 / .378 / .551 so far this season with Triple-A Las Vegas.

Lagares has above plus speed and the potential to play all three outfield positions. He needs to cut down on his strikeouts and needs to walk more. He has 14 strikeouts this season and four walks, which is something he will need to improve upon to stick at the Major League level.

Here’s Wally Backman (via Rubin):

He’s a … kid who can play all three outfield positions … He’s got speed. He’s a good outfielder. He throws to the right bases. And he can swing the bat a little bit.”

Mets righty outfielders (Marlon Byrd and Collin Cowgill) are hitting a combined .234. They’re hitting a combined .250 against lefties, and they’re supposed to be platoon guys. They were both supposed to be regulars at the beginning of the season, but Cowgill has clearly lost his starting job.

At the same time, Kirk Nieuwenhuis is hitting only .125 and is kind of only on the team because he is their best defensive outfielder.

This comes as a surprise to me because of Lagares’ low walk rate and decently high strikeout rate. It will be interesting to see this story play out. Adam Rubin is usually pretty reliable, so I’ll take his word on this one; however, this promotion seems to be a little out of the blue.

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“It’s about playing nine innings and keeping yourself in the game and giving yourself a chance. We hung in there (and) we didn’t let the game get away, which I thought was the biggest thing.”

—Manager Terry Collins, on the Mets rallying with two runs in the ninth to defeat Miami Sunday.

I love the way Collins gets his teams to approach the game. Last year up until the all-star break Collins had his team fighting night in and night out. However, Collins became a different manager, and most importantly a different mentor during the second half of the season. Collins can’t let that happen again this year, or the Mets will just get the same result (74-88). I believe that deep down Collins thinks that this team can make a playoff run, and he puts a product out on the field that believes it too.

Notes: This is only the second time the Mets have won the first two series of the season in the last ten years. The last time the Mets won the first two series of the season was in 2006. 

Continue reading »]]> New York Mets1) Collin Cowgill CF
2) Daniel Murphy 2B
3) David Wright 3B
4) Ike Davis 1B
5) Mike Baxter RF
6) Lucas Duda LF
7) Ruben Tejada SS
8) Anthony Recker C
9) Aaron Laffey LHP

Continue reading »]]> The Mets minor league affiliates begin their seasons today. Notably, the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s begin their season tonight right now at 10 PM. Why is this notable? Zack Wheeler is throwing to Travis d’Arnaud. Both prospects are expected to be with the Mets this summer. Wilmer Flores is starting at second base as he makes his Triple-A debut.

Here’s the lineup:

1. Juan Lagares CF
2. Josh Satin DH
3. Travis d’Arnaud C
4. Wilmer Flores 2B
5. Andrew Brown RF
6. Zach Lutz 3B
7. Jamie Hoffmann LF
8. Eric Campbell 1B
9. Omar Quintanilla SS

RHP Zack Wheeler will take the mound for the 51s, obviously.

To follow the game on MiLB Gameday, click here.

Continue reading »]]> Well, not exactly what you would expect. But, Mike Piazza will be making ballet debut in Miami on May 3 (via Newsday):

Former Major League Baseball catcher Mike Piazza will be taking center stage with the Miami City Ballet.

The Miami Beach-based dance company has tapped Piazza to play the role of a gangster in the May 3 production of “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.”

Piazza won’t be dancing in tights. He’ll wear a 1920s-era gangster costume, say a few lines and then watch the rest of the performance from a seat onstage.

Piazza says his turn with the troupe is his gift to his 6-year-old daughter, a student at Miami City Ballet School.

The ballet features gangsters, strippers and an attempted murder plot. It originally appeared as part of the 1930s musical “On Your Toes.”

Piazza had 427 career home runs and made 12 All-Star Game appearances.

Here’s a picture of Piazza as a ballerina. Keep in mind that I need to improve my photoshopping ability:

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Picture from the Facebook page of the Las Vegas 51s

This is a cool picture: Zack Wheeler on the left, Travis d’Arnaud on the right. These guys are playing on the same team for the first time with the Las Vegas 51s–the Mets new Triple-A affiliate. The picture kind of reminds me of pictures of young David Wright and young David Wright, like the one you can see here. The Mets hope that these two will be a part of the future Mets core. They expect them to make their big league debuts this season, and the sky is the limit for both of them. What’s even cooler is that they’re going through this process together, as Wheeler will pitch to d’Arnaud Opening Day for Triple-A Las Veegas.

Continue reading »]]> Would you have believed me in February if I told you the Mets would win Opening Day 11-2 because of guys like Collin Cowgill, Marlon Byrd, and John Buck?

Did you think at that time in February that a Mets center fielder would leadoff on Opening Day and hit a double and a grand slam? Maybe you did… But if you did, you probably expected your Opening Day center fielder to be Michael Bourn and not Collin Cowgill, who was just absolutely awesome yesterday.

Looking through the box score, it was nice to see seven of the nine guys in the Starting Lineup get a hit. Even Jon Niese even had two hits to along with his stellar 6 2/3 innings of two run, four hit baseball. Lucas Duda and Ike Davis were the only two players from the starting lineup to go hitless. These are two guys who have to hit a combined 50 homeruns minimum for the Mets to have any sort of shot this season. Obviously, Opening Day is just one game, but Ike didn’t look too good: he struck out four times. I’m really not worried about Ike Davis at all. In my opinion, he’s of the few non-question-marks the Mets have. Ike will hit at least 30 homers this year. I’m sure of it…

What was good to see from Duda was the fact that even though he didn’t get any hits, had ended the game with an on-base-percentage of .500. Duda got on base in half of his plate appearances. Now, a walk really is not always as good as a hit, but you know what I’m trying to say… If you’re not going to get a hit, get on base.

At the same time, Duda and Davis face a tough task  tomorrow and Thursday, as the team faces two lefties. It would have been nice for them to get hits yesterday–especially just for confidence.

Anyway, I think this team is better than last year’s team. I really do. Yes, Santana and Dickey were on last year’s team, and Hairston too. But they’ll be a better team this year if Wheeler and d’Arnaud come up this summer and are as good as advertised. Niese and Harvey are going to have great seasons, and I think Gee could even end the year with an ERA just under 4.00. Collin Cowgill > Andres Torres; Marlon Byrd > Jason Bay; John Buck > Josh Thole; Jon Niese will have a better year this year than Johan Santana had last year, so Jon Niese > Johan Santana. That’s four upgrades in the starting lineup. We haven’t even touched on the bullpen, which HAS to be better. It couldn’t be worse.

All in all, Opening Day is just one game. The Padres are probably going to be pretty bad this year, but they’re still a big league team. There were a lot of positives to take out of the game (the new guys playing well/Niese’s outing) and a few negatives (Duda and Ike). Remember though, it was one game. We should all be pumped that the Mets won 11 to 2. Let’s just not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

Anyway, It’s great that Mets Baseball is back, it was great to the see the Mets play well yesterday, and it was great to see the Yankees get smacked!