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May 18, 2006
Local Color
Have you ever looked through newspaper archives? I’m not talking about the New York Times or anything like that; I mean local papers. The more local the better. While the big papers are filled with factual accounts of “important” events in the world, the small papers are filled with maybe-not-so-factual accounts of important events in individual lives. They’re filled with tales of fish caught, spelling bees won, honor role students—those sorts of things. Last week, Chad Finn contributed a terrific piece to the Baseball Analysts’s phenomenal Designated Hitter series. It was sort of the baseball equivalent to the local paper, focusing on smaller players who may not have contributed as much as the superstars, but who are still worth talking about. One of the players he mentioned was Chico Walker, who stuck with the Mets at the tail end of his career. I loved Chico when he was with the Mets. I was young at the time, and much of the attraction was doubtless due to his name (What nine year-old can’t love a man who goes by Chico?), but part of it was because he unexpectedly played well, posting a .308/.369/.423 with 14 steals in 15 tries in 1992, while moving all over the diamond. Not bad for a 34 year old who had only once gotten more than 105 at bats at the major league level. He fell off a cliff the next season, but in 1992 he was a rare pleasant surprise on a bleak team. I really started watching professional baseball (at least so far as I remember) in 1990, at age seven, and ever since I’ve been enchanted with the shape of the team’s history as its evolved. Looking at these teams is a lot like looking through those old archives. Maybe I’m the only one who ever thinks about this, but do you ever try to split all the Mets you’ve seen into different teams? Like if there was a big draft with all the Mets from 1990 to 2005 (and just those Mets), who would go where? Who would nail down a starting job despite not being all that good? I figure there have probably been enough Mets for eight teams or so. So I thought I’d share who I’d draft at each position (except pitcher) not first, not second, but seventh. One or two would be way too uninteresting. Again, who would be good enough to start, but just barely? Remember: this only features seasons from 1990 to 2005. Catcher: Tough call, because Todd Hundley and Mike Piazza held the starting job for so long, and nearly every other option was a backup. In the end, I guess I’d take Charlie O’Brien with the seventh pick. He’s not as good a hitter as some (read: many) others, but he may be the best defensive catcher the Mets have ever had. When your alternatives are the likes of Rick Cerone and Brent Mayne, go with the glove. Late during his career, a poll asked personnel who they thought was the player most likely to enjoy a managerial career. The most common answer given, I believe, was O’Brien. I haven’t been able to find any indication of him as a coach or manager anywhere, but I have a feeling he was just selected as the game’s best known defensive replacement at catcher. I’ve heard several places that he had something of an abrasive personality. First Base: First base has really been a weak spot for the Mets over the years, and a seventh pick is no easy matter when many of the best choices are better suited elsewhere. Believe it or not, Mo Vaughn is probably gone by 5th or 6th for his just one year of average production at the plate. I’d probably grab Big Tony Clark at number seven. Clark was on the verge of being forced out of the big leagues when the Mets gave him a chance to get a job on the bench. Clark proved he could hit the homerun still, slugging .472, before skipping across town. I’ve always had a soft spot for Clark, a well-spoken guy who didn’t kill you defensively and provided punch off the bench, if not on base ability. Second Base: The aforementioned Walker probably goes here, just behind Keith Miller. Both were similar players – decent OBP, good speed, eh power, lots of versatility. Walker’s numbers are dragged down by an atrocious year in 1993 following that 1992. Miller’s numbers are dragged down by a subpar 1990. If you put Ty Wigginton here, he bumps Miller to the seventh spot, I stuck Wigginton at… Third Base: Maybe the strongest position the Mets have had over this period—strange considering how terrible it was until HoJo showed up. You have solid contributions from lots of guys, but it really empties out by the time the seventh pick comes around. I guess I’ll pick Matt Franco. Franco was best known for having Kurt Russell as an uncle, but became Bobby Valentine’s primary pinch hitter in 1997. Franco, until his final season with the team, was a model of consistency: for three straight seasons, he hovered around 150 at bats and posted OPS’s between .726 and .730. He never hit for power, but he had a career .345 OBP with the team. Shortstop: Wow. Bad position. I guess it’s Kevin Elster, who only hit .225 as a Met from 1990-1992. My other options were Mike Bordick, Tim Bogar, and Dick Schofield. Bad position. Many remember the 80’s version of Elster, who was a no-hit, good-glove shortstop, and a few may remember how he resurfaced with the Rangers in 1996 and magically became a power hitter (24 HR, 99 RBI). No clue what happened there. Leftfield: Like third base, the sixth and seventh spots are where things really start to thin out. There are a lot of options depending on where everyone winds up playing, but I think Chris Jones is a fair pick. Chris Jones was the Matt Franco/Lenny Harris of 1995-1996. Unlike Harris or Franco though, Jones had some pop in his bat, even slugging .467 in 1995. He fell off in 1996, but overall posted a .741 OPS, just a tad below average. Luckily for him, it only takes one year to establish yourself as a pinch hitter, and he was able to hang on for a few more years in other organizations. Centerfield: A strangely deep position. Carlos Beltran might fit in here. But let’s go with Brian McRae instead. McRae, like Kevin McReynolds before him, was often thought to be apathetic toward the game. Before he had even left the Mets he was talking about retiring to broadcasting, which he did, becoming an analyst for ESPN. He was a first round draft pick who grew into a solid all-around player. He got on base at a good clip, had 20 homerun power, had good speed, played a very solid center field. He enjoyed a good season in 1998, but his production fell way off in 1999. Rightfield: Another terrible position for the Mets. You could make a good argument that Victor Diaz goes second here, since I drafted Bobby Bonilla as a third baseman. The most likely #7 pick is probably Roger Cedeno. He did have that great 1999. Again, this was just a fun exercise, more to remember old faces than anything else. Don’t take anything here too seriously. 147 Responses to “Local Color”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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Tying run to the plate, anything can happen now….
Did I miss Nady pinch-hitting earlier? Why wouldn’t he pinch hit for Chavez?
Shouldn’t Nady be hitting here? I know r vs. r but we need a HR.
I usually don’t criticize Willie, but it is absolutely ridiculous that Nady did not bat for Chavez in the 9th. Insane. Is Nady banged up, or is Willie asleep at the wheel?
Willie, why oh why, wouldn’t you pinch hit for Chavez when you have Nady, Lo Duca, and Franco on the bench? Why? Tell me.
chalk this one up in Willie’s loss column. Where is the power hitting pinch hitter? LoDuca? Nady? Franco? I’d rather have seen any of them over Chavez.
But nothing did
ah. i missed those posts. I see you all agree.
Nady has been dreadful with runners in scoring position all year but, in that situation, you want your best in there and Nady is your best chance to tie the game up. I hate willie
Lets hope the Brewers Cromag closer can finish off the Phils.
Last year’s “rookie probationary period” and this year’s hot start really disguised the fact that Willie’s a shaky game manager.
Plus, his personnel moves are for s**t. I’m getting worried here. Omallie, or is it Mindolph, or perhaps Willaya better get it in gear.
Total bad game all around for the mets. They looked flat coming out. They seemed to be swinging at the first pitch a lot today which is bad, and they fouled out to many times for my liking today. All around they just seemed like they did not want to be there and could not wait to come home. Only positives in todays game was we didnt use Sanchez or Heilman so they will be fresh for tomorrow. Hopefully coming home will restart this team and get them back on the winning track. Also Cliff Floyd needs to start going opposite field more. That is why he is slumping so bad, he continues to try and pull the ball, once he starts going the other way more he can then go back to pulling the ball. Lets hope they get excited about this series tomorrow and ride it out for a few weeks.
In case you weren’t paying attention the Braves are now 3.5 out.
Since I apparently haven’t suffered enough today, I am watching the end of the Yankees game on YES. Jim Kaat just mentioned that the Yankees have 4 members on their team that have appeared on People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People List (Jeter, A-Rod, Bernie, and Scott Erickson). I don’t know what to do with this information.
Exactly. You took the words right out of my mouth. The Braves scare me a heck of alot more than the Phillies.
Thank you Brew Crew.
Don’t think you can really chalk this one up to Willie, unless you want to blame the coaching staff and front office together for allowing Lima another start.
Outside of there, I wouldn’t say he’s to blame…pinch-hitter for Chavez notwithstanding.
This entire road trip was filled with missed opportunities (horrible hitting with RISP) and bad luck (Heilman not letting Lo Duca field the ball, Rowand and the rain out game). Several games the Mets might not have lost if they had capitalized JUST ONCE on a few opportunities.
Oh well, back home…let’s hope they sweep the Yankees and get hot again. You win a third, you lose a third…it’s what happens with that final third that makes or breaks ya during a season. We’ll chalk up these losses to the third we know we’ll lose. I mean, come on, Lima started. :P
Hopefully, on the way to Lambert field for the flight back to shea, They stop the bus and throw a tennis ball and tell Lima to go fetch then drive away as fast as the can.
If lima time pitches next week at shea, im headed up north to boo Lima.
Actually, Andrew, I didn’t think a lot of things incorrectly. Yes, we needed help in the bullpen, and I’m delighted that Sanchez has been pitching so well, but it wasn’t necessary to deplete the starting pitching by getting rid of Benson and Seo. As I wrote, one of them was okay to get relief help, but not both. With “Lime Time” and injuries in our #4 and #5 position, I’d love to have either Benson or Seo around now. Seo’s struggled, but he had to learn a new system/catcher, and, like most other pitchers who played in the WBC, after playing grat there, he’s off to a slow start. But he has pitched well in 3 of his last 4 starts, and I’m sure he’ll be better as the year goes on. And Benson’s reliable. It seems to me that if we had one of them now, are chances would be much better. I was wrong about Jacobs though. Any time you can get a Delgado for a possible flash in the pan, you do it. I just wish Heilman gets a shot as a starter. He’s MORE than proved it. Heilman can be a valuable starting pitcher that, with Pedro, Glavine, etc., we can win the series THIS year.
Atlanta is doing what we did a month ago. they just beat up on Florida and Washington at the same time we had series against philly, Mil and stl. They go to Arizona for some tougher competion. Dustin Nippert, Arizona top pitching prospect, is being held out tonight for Tucson to replace Claudio Vargas who pitched last night in relief in game 1. The Braves will also see Brandon webb and the braves are throwing a guy named Travis SMith, who is the ultimate minor league jorneyman, on sat night.
Compared to Jose Lima everyone is reliable
What a shame Heilman wasn’t starting the last three times Lima did. Lima’s performance is exceptionally predictable. Though I much prefer Jeremi G over LIma, if he gets a few more starts, I doubt that JG will level out at better than about 4.9 ERA. I’d like to see Soler and Heilman starting. Demote LIman and JG, and bring up Bell and Soler.
Anybody hear anything new on Owens? Any projections for how long he will be out?
Chris, that was funny. I think we have a good chance of taking 2 out of 3 from the Yanks this weekend! And if we can beat the Big Ugly Unit on Friday, maybe we can take all 3 with Pedro and Glavine in the final two! Steinbrenner’s expression if we take all three - priceless!
I consider Lima very reliable. You know every time out that it will be ugly and we will lose the game.
Mr. Anna Benson is not reliable he blows up randomly and gets a tired shoulder every year.
On the Jim Rome show LoDuca as correspodent just called Valentin’s stache a porn stache and called him the Puerto Rican Pink Panther that is great.
Mexy made the same statement to Down on the telecast last week and Down did not say he was emphasizing this with Floyd which was shocking. Its obvious to everyone out there except the hitting coach.
I hope we have not already played our best ball of the year. This team has some problems, low obp at the top of the order, lack of timely hitting and weak starting pitching after Pedro and Glavine (assuming he continues to pitch well and not be a one half pitcher as has been his M/O the last 5/6 years). After Pedro, I can think of a better starting rotation of pitchers we have let go than what we have right now.
i said before the season the batting order should have been–reyes—wright—beltran—–delgado—–nady—-floyd—loduca—matsui—pitcher.wright is looking to pull to much –when he was successful earlier in the year he was constantly hitting the ball the other way and ditto for cliff floyd he’s also looking to pull the ball to much . if they start to hit the ball where it is pitched the mets will take off.
I don’t think the #2 hole is the right place for Wright. Lo Duca is a natural #2 because he goes to right so well. Also, you don’t want Wright taking good pitches to give Reyes a chance to steal, you want him slugging.
Nady, our worst hitter batting with runners in scoring position (.162 this season, .209 career with risp), batting 5th. If you want anyone in the 5th hole in a lineup that features (1-4) reyes, Beltran, wright & Delgado, wouldnt it make sense that guy be Loduca. I know that its sexy to have your guy in the 5th slot with 20-30 homerun power but Loduca, in his career, is a .307 hitter in 551abs driving in 86rbis batting 5th. By far his best spot in the order over his entire career. LoDUca is also a guy who is a .313 career hitter with runners in scoring position (highest on the team ahead of Beltran .310 & Delgado .300). Not to mention a career .300 hitter with runners in scoring position with 2 outs. This guy knows how to drive in runners.
Good points on Loduca. I would consider swapping Floyd for Loduca just to shake things up. The 6 and 7 spots, mainly Cliff and Nady, have been anemic with runners on. With Delgado and D Wright getting on base a lot, it would make sense to have someone like Loduca hitting behind them.
Actually Wally, when things are going right for wright (lol), he’s taking alot of pitches and going to right. Thats sounds like a number 2 hitter to me. As shown in my example above, Loduca is our best hitter with runners in scoring position no matter the situation. Wouldn’t you want the guy who is your best run producer with guys in scoring position hitting behind 3 guys(Beltran, Wright & Delgado) who are getting on base just under 40% of the time (.408, .379 & .394 respectively)? Compare that to the 3 guys currently in front of Loduca, our best hitter with runners in scoring position. Matsui (.280 obp), the 9th spot (too lazy to do the math) & Reyes (.324) get on under 30% of the time.
It completely makes sense to me to move Wright to the second or third place in the lineup and move Loduca to the 5th spot.
We are the first first place team that is a laughing stock among casual fans. let Lima go!
What I would not give to be a fly on the wall in Omar’s office at about 1:45 today. Does anyone have a scouting report visually of Soler to say how he looks or is he just overmatching kids. Can he come up and get big leaguers out and produce an era under 8? I don’t think innings will be a problem for him even with the layoff he had since it seems Cuban pitchers Pitch almost all year long. I just cannot watch Lima anymore or watch him pitch against the bombers Philly has.
I disagree with Lo Duca as the #5. He’ll give Delgado no protection whatsoever. Delgado will never get anything to hit in crucial situation. Sluggers always have high OBP; does that mean Pujols should lead off? Beltran, Delgado and Wright are our RBI guys. If the Mets need to depend on Lo Duca as their RBI guy, then they’re finished. You can’t rearrange the batting order based on RISP averages after 6 weeks of the season.
Im looking at risp over a career, not over a season. I think I pointed that out mult. times. Plus the protection arguement is a cop out in my opinion. They’re (the opposing team) going to walk Delgado in the same situations no matter who on our team is batting 5th. 2 outs in the ninth inning with a man on second in a one run game and the opposing pitcher walks Delgado to face our fifth batter (which will happen when a righty is in the game regardless who is batting 5th), who would you rather have in the 5th slot, a guy who is batting, over a lengthy career, .300 with RISP with 2 outs or a guy who is batting, in a relatively short career, .243 with risp with 2 outs? I would take the guy who is 57 points better in that situation, wouldn’t you?
Very unlikely. You are basing your entire argument on a RISP w/2 outs stat a situation that occurs about 65 times a year for LoDuca. Maybe 12 times in the 8th or 9th innings each season. The .057 difference equals 3.75 more hits in that situation over the entire season. LoDuca dropping 2 hits while Wright picking up 2 in a season in that situation totally wipes out the difference. It is statistically insignificant.
Stats based on a much larger sample size strongly favor Wright as the guy they would fear after walking Delgado.
Slugging pct. Wright +.078 points.
Wright 1rbi every 5.9 ABs, LoDuca 1rbi every 7.6 ABs which is a 22% difference.
Wright 1 HR every 21.4 ABs, LoDuca 1 HR every 41 ABS.
A club leading by 2 with one man on is much less likely to walk Delgado with Wright hitting behind him than LoDuca. They are much more likely to value Wrights abilty to take the lead with 1 swing than the much smaller likelihood of LoDuca getting a base hit if there happen to be 2 outs.
when i was a kid, my dad bought my sister and i every met baseball card of the players on the team that year. we sent them all individually along with a self addressed stamped envelope to each player. the only basball card i recieved back, signed no less was charlie o’brien.
he may have been rumored to have “an abrasive attitude” but he will always have a place on my team….
cp and chris in ga,
Do you really think changing the 5 hole will do much. I think the 6 and 7 hole have been the problem with RISP. DO you agree? I think moving Floyd up for a few days could help him and Loduca as a clutch hitter in the 6 hole may also help things out.
Hubie, I think Floyd getting back into a groove solves all sorts of batting order issues. If he needs to hit 2nd to do so thenfine by me.
I don’t think it is a function of where he hits, just a matter of him hitting a bunch of balls well in succession. I liked his last 2 ABs today, hopefully it will carry over.
1. Beltran CF — Lots of walks, good speed
2. Milledge LF — Call Him Up; Pencil Him Him.
3. Wright 3B — The spot he’s best suited for
4. Delgado 1B — Good for 125+ RBIs behind those 3
5. Reyes SS — #5 hitter most often leads off 2nd inning; plenty of doubles and triples
6. Nady RF — Not the guy you want leading off an inning if you can help it
7. LoDuca C — His BA is about the sum of his offense
8. Anderson Hernandez 2B — Hits worse than Kaz if that’s possible. # 9 when Tom G hurls?
9. Pedro/Glavine/Trachsel/Heilman/Bannister, Soler, Maine or anyone not named Lima
I know folks will disagree, and I’m kinda waiting for it. But is Reyes really less suited for the #5 slot than for leadoff? A Leadoff hitter with a lifetime OBP in the .300 range? He’s beena decent RBI guy thru his career. Beltran and Wright are the only two guys actually suited to leadoff. Flip flop em if you want; but Wright will lose his “speed” some day, and I want him ready to rake from the meat of the order when that day comes.
Did you even read the stats i put up earlier about his inability to drive guys in runs. Career with no runners on .293 BA and a .805 ops 498abs
career with runners on .235 BA and a .692ops 413abs (put them in scoring position, it gets worse)
Leading off an inning: .347 BA and a .948ops 219 abs
If we had an average 2b, I would want him in the 8th spot of the order.
Quite Frankly, I want Nady out of here. I was for him during the off season but the guy is absolutely horrible w/ runners on base. If you can get a quality starter with him you gotta do it. I’m not DIaz’s biggest fan but if you must keep milledge in the minors, call him up and he’ll do an adequete job. Nady is only a little better defensively than Diaz anyway.
Honestly Hubie, I was just trying to throw an alternative situation out there. I was bored and wanted a debate. ONly CP really gave me any good explantation for not batting LoDuca behind Delgado. I still personally think the saying “providing protection in a lineup” is overused but thats just me. I want to keep the lineup the way it is right now with Loduca batting 2nd and wright batting 5th. I think Wright is a special player who can realistically bat 2,3,4,5 or 6th so saying his game would hurt by batting second is just not true (thats why I started my rant about Loduca and wright switching places).
Now here’s a thought im going to get killed one, have Valentin start twice this weekend @ second. He’s seeing the ball real well right now. Ride him until he isnt seeing the ball well. HE has gone on moth long spurts like this one his entire career. He is the streakest player Ive seen since becoming a fan of baseball in 86.
Quote of the day by Jose Lima
You also didnt make it out of the 5th but its the offenses fault for the runs you gave up. copout
chris in ga - I am not going to kill you for the Valentin thing. He even flew out to the fence in another at-bat. He is seeing it real well. Kaz has really tailed off lately. And Valentin even made a couple of decent plays defensively as well. The Mets are really sort of grappling offensively right now, maybe Valentin will give them a shot in the arm (I can’t believe I just wrote that).
Lima is an idiot.
Chris in GA, you are right. We should ride Valentin this weekend. When a guy who is that hott you got to ride him for a while, Plus Kaz has been ice cold, only thing is he usually shows up for the big events so he might get a few big hits this weekend. Also agree with the Nady thing, would love to trade him get another pitcher and then just call up Diaz for the rest of the year. Nady is too pull happy. His swing irritates me cause he always seems to be dipping when he swings. Diaz goes the other way a lot, if only we could get him to work his ass off and then we could have him up here and have a good OF for the rest of the year.
Ajsmith you brought back to mind Amos Otis for Joe Foy.
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