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July 26, 2006
Endy Magic!
It is possible that Jose Valentin is having the most surprising season of all Mets this year (especially considering he is starting), but a close second would definitely have to be Endy Chavez, who has just been magical (hence Endy Magic) this season. Coming into the year, I knew Endy Chavez had a great defensive reputation, both by scouting reports and the numbers, so I knew the Mets would get good defense from him. But even despite knowing that, I still didn’t think his defense would be quite as great as it has been. And it has been great. But his defense is not the surprising part. It’s the offense he has brought while playing that is most shocking. After last night’s 2-3 performance with a 3-run HR and a walk, Endy is now batting .289/.325/.428. His career line coming into the year was .259/.299/.359. His OPS in the two years in which Endy got more than 200 ABs (which he will this year) were .648 and .689. He is coming off a year when he hit .215/.243/.299 and was released by the Phillies for being so bad. The positive that Endy has going for him is that he is only 28 (despite being in the majors since 2001), so he could just be a player finally coming into his own in his “prime years”. Or, it could just be a total fluke. I’m enjoying it either way. But, looking at the stats for a moment, his walk rate is not out of line with his career and for me, it is imaginable, over the small sample of a little under 200 ABs, that he could have had a few more hits fall in so far this year to allow him to have a higher average. But the biggest difference with Endy this year is his power. His isolated power is up about 40 points and if you prorated his stats out to 500 ABs, he would have 51 extra-base hits, which is 16 more than he has had in any year of his career. Like I said, I have no idea whether Endy has finally figured something out after being called up so young or if this is a slightly fluky year for him (I think there might be a combo of both in there), but either way, I’m definitely like the Endy magic. 15 Responses to “Endy Magic!”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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I am such a great fan of Endy Chavez that you can call me a Chavista!
Happy to say that this is one I got right — unlike Stache in a good way and Soler in a bad way… Always liked Endy when he played for Mon/Wash. The stats sucked, but he looked like a guy who could play. I liked him in the same way that I really like Juan Pierre.
Ramon, I’m a member of the Chavistas too. I’ve been referring to him for a month now as Every Met Fan’s Secret Favorite Player. From his D to his baserunning, to the super-clutch hitting, I’m stoked.
And it’s funny, Jeremy, but I just posted a new Met piece which among other points talks about . . . Endy Chavez:
” . . . my favorite Met (and yours too, admit it), Endy Chavez. I know he doesn’t have much hitting talent, and I know he’s overmatched against dominant pitchers. But between his baserunning, his gold glove-quality fielding, and his super-clutch hitting (364/453/500 w/ RISP), I feel confident when he’s in the mix . . .”
For more on that, plus happy thoughts on awesome Met slugging, a brief journey into the pits of despair over the pitching (di)staff, and a detailed run-down of a hopeful, if not sucessful, 9th inning last night, give my name a click.
Plus, you know there might be a nugget or two on The Eternal Captain. Enjoy.
11? Delusions of grandeur Mike?
Yes endy is sure a suprise, love it when he comes up in a close game late, you know its going to be a double down the left field line :-)
In case anyone hasnt seen the actuall endictment of grimsby heres all the shameful details including the blacked out major leagers names he named
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0607061grimsley1.html
Ok Brian, you caught me. I counted you twice. Shoulda said 10.
Brilliant Ramon :) (this group exists!) j.k
That was nice of you Mike.
Good post as always. One thing, your take on the 9th inning last night borders on moral victories. Slippery slope my friend. I understnad your point but still it is either a W or an L
This is all prior to last night’s big game: Two of Dino’s 19 RBIs are game winners. One in the 10th and one in the 13th innings. Another tied the game and moved the game winner to third in the bottom of the eight with one out. (The run scored on a ground ball in the next at bat) Dino also has what I consider four big RBIs. One came on a single and was followed by a steal toward the begining of the mets record breaking 11 run inning. One was during the second at bat of a game we went on to win 5-4 against a division rival. One gave us a lead late in a game we won 4-3 in the bottom of the 12th. The other tied up a game we eventualy lost. So, I guess you could say almost half of his RBIs have come in big situations and three of his 19 were huge. He had another 3 big RBIs last night that gave the Mets a lead. The kid is an athlete and I would love if this was a breakout year for him. Even if he gives us a few Joey “Baseball” McEwing type years I’d be more than happy.
I remember mentioning on this board that Endy played Gold Glove-caliber defense, and having a few posters mock me for such a claim. Having said that, I also said he wouldn’t hit and we should have kept Tike Redman on the 25-man over him… so take anything I say with a grain of salt.
If Milledge isn’t on the roster and the Mets make the World Series, I would love to see Endy in rightfield and Xavier as the DH in the AL park. Oh, and I would bat Endy second…
Anyone that watched Endy C. in the World Baseball Classic is not too surprised by his performance with the Mets this season. During the W.B.C. he got timely hits and drove the ball with power (btw, same for Carlos Betran, who also raked in the WBC). The only question was whether he could carry over all the good..good..good vi-bra-tions to the MLB season — so far, so very good. Endy’s on a magic carpet ride, here’s hoping it continues..all the way to a World Series championship for the Mets. And lastly, credit goes to Willie and Omar for getting this one right.
Peace..
Another big Endy fan here. Also, Endy seems like a genuinely nice guy - he interacts w/ the fans during batting/fielding practice and is thus very popular. On the other hand Feliciano seems like an ass …… for whatever that’s worth.
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