Thursday, May 23, 2013
Mets’ Ike Davis On Struggles: ‘I Can’t Do Any Worse’
(newyork.cbslocal.com)
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Read More...Despite growing calls for his demotion, Davis won’t be sent down to Triple-A before Friday’s series opener against the Braves, according to the New York Daily News.
“Maybe after the weekend,” a source told the paper.
It’s been a frustrating season for Davis, batting .147 with nine RBIs after getting off to a miserable start last year, too.
“I know I’m going to play better, especially hitting-wise. I can’t do any worse,” he said. “If ...
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1 2 >2/26 doesn't even get you Kyle Lohse these days, much less a reigning Cy Young winner.
38 is the prime for knuckleballers.
He's put up a 129 ERA+ in 616.2 IP the last three years. I'd think he's as good a bet as all but the top 10 or so SPs to give you 3 quality years.
That's from Heyman, which I guess you could interpret as Dickey being willing to settle in the middle.
This would be such a no brainer from the Mets POV.
This will not occur.
Indeed. I can't see the Jays doing this anyway.
He has 252 career strikeouts and 56 walks. He has 43 homers and 37 doubles. If you have a catcher who is OK defensively and hits like a poor man's Wily Mo Peña, that's INTERESTING, but it's not worth more than a catcher who is OK defensively and is a more traditional-style bad hitter.
It would be relative PR glory to bring him back, and also mitigate losing Dickey.
JP Arencibia must be the most overrated baseball player on the entire internet. It's possible for someone to hit 23 home runs in a season and still be a bad hitter. The sillyball era is over but it's not like we're back in 1967.
You ought to look at the current Met catchers. Arencibia is going to hit much, much better in 2013 than any of them, unless Thole completely rebounds. And if he does, Arencibia is still a more-than-competent half of a platoon.
Arencibia's OPS+ was 89 in 2012. Thole's was 63. Nickeas checked in at 32.
edit: Err, never mind. Read the wrong column. I'm dumb.
I'm still not sure I'd take Arencibia over Thole.
This is a theme for the Blue Jays. There have been 100 seasons in which a player has hit 23+ home runs with an OPS+ under 100. The Jays have had 5 of these in the last 3 years -- Aaron Hill and Adam Lind in 2010, Arencibia and Lind in 2011, and Colby Rasmus in 2012. Eyeballing the list, no other team has had 4 in 3 years, let alone 5.
The Jays have had 9 such seasons overall -- also Joe Carter in '95 and '96, Jose Cruz in 2000, and Vernon Wells in 2002. No other franchise has as many; the Cubs are second with 7.
Lots of players have pulled off the feat twice. Carter and Steve Balboni are the only ones to do it three times. Balboni is best, because he managed it three years in a row (1986-1988).
(Tony Batista had years in which he hit 26 and 32 home runs and was worth -25 and -19 runs at the plate, per BBRef. I remember him as a crappy hitter, but that style of crappiness is incredibly difficult to pull off.)
He also hit 41 homers in 2000, which was good for a 102 OPS+. Also, he hit 25 homers in a season split between the Jays and Orioles that involved an OPS+ of 87 (Giving them 9.5 seasons overall), and was worth -13 runs at the plate. He was truly a special player, even before considering his incredibly ###### up batting stance, and the time he wasn't awarded first when he was hit by a pitch, because he swung at it in an "I'm going to hit this a mile" style.
The concussions are what have me worried with Thole. Anyhow, point is that you'd be choosing scenario with Arencibia/Thole over one with just Thole.
The Jays have already added two (potentially good) starters this offseason, to give them a front four of Johnson, Buehrle, Romero, and Morrow, and assorted acceptable options for the fifth guy. Their rotation (assuming health, which is always a potential concern with pitchers) is not the team's biggest concern.
The offense, on the other hand, is carrying question marks at CF (Rasmus), 1B or DH (wherever Encarnacion isn't playing, and Lind is), 2B (Izturis and Bunny Face), and possibly C (some combination of Buck, Arencibia, and D'Arnaud). Removing Reyes from the lineup and replacing him with someone like Tejada just creates another offensive hole, to the point where there would be questions about whether the Jays could produce enough runs to win.
And then there's also the issue of Reyes currently solving the SS issue for multiple years, while it's easily possible that Dickey could be gone at the end of this season.
As a Jays fan, I'd like Dickey, but not at the expense of Reyes.
Have no fear, they're looking at Olivio!! For some reason!!
I disagree with trading Dickey in the offseason even if they can't extend him reasonably (no longer than 3 years for less than 15m per) because they'll still be able to deal him in season, and because next season is a year where Mets fans will need something to cheer them up. A knuckleballer making 3m for half the season and then being turned into prospects while being one of the coolest stories in baseball is a cheap way to do that.
This was my reaction as well. They couldn't make this deal regardless because then everyone in the front office would have to be fired, and rightly so.
No way Alderson embarrasses the Wilpons by making a trade which highlights the cash-poor state of the Mets, a team who in earlier years had enough cash to sign Reyes and Dickey (and Wright).
At least the Mets got $7 million from the Marlins along with Carlos Delgado in exchange for 3 prospects.
Yeah, relative to the Mets re-acquiring Tom Seaver for the 1983 season in exchange for Jason Felice, Lloyd McClendon and Charlie Puleo.
Reyes was, unluckily, a FA during the Madoff uncertainty - if he were a FA this year they might have re-signed him already. The trade will not happen but I, at least, would understand the move, and I don't think it would mean that everyone should be fired.
and
The most delusional, out of touch, fanboy thing i've read in years. Incredible.
Dickey is valuable to a contending team - one that was a few wins away from a pennant. I can't see the point of the Royals doing a deal for him.
Reyes in making $22 million in a couple years. So the contract is good for two years and then becomes a liability. No thanks.
Agreed. That's the contract I've expected all along. Arguably a steal, actually. BJ Upton costs $15 million, these days.
The Mets already have Dickey for 5m in 2013. The issue is whether a 2/26 commitment for 2014-2015 makes sense. While a lot of knuckleballers are out of the league by 39, Dickey's seasonal age in 2014, he's just come off a legit Cy Young season during which he threw 233 innings. That's a career high, and reason to be both reassured and concerned.
Btw, anyone who blithely says, 'Dickey's a knuckleballer, of course he'll pitch well into his 40s,' is looking at the historical record with rose-colored glasses. I'd be happy to sign Dickey to the 2/26 contract that's been mentioned, but it's hardly guaranteed that a pitcher without a UCL and who relies on throwing a knuckler faster than anyone in history is going to be an above average starter at age 40. We're in uncharted territory, and even HOF pitchers struggle to stay in the league by 40.
That said, it's appalling that the Mets have to mull over signing their Cy Young winner and fan favorite to a short, obviously solid deal, especially when they have so much money coming off the books just as Dickey's new contract begins.
.
Well put.
Of course, Ruben Tejada is interesting. 4 years of control, just 23 years old and has an 86 lifetime MLB OPS+. His defensive rankings aren't that good (around league average for UZR) so he'd be someone the Jays would only go after if they felt the millions invested in Reyes could be better used elsewhere.
The Reyes/Dickey thing is a joke and should be treated as such.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.
Rasmus 2011-12: .224/.293/.396/.689/86 OPS+
Tejeda 2011-12: .287/.345/.345/.690/93 OPS+
2010 was a long time ago. And Rasmus is starting to get pricey.
Btw, anyone who blithely says, 'Dickey's a knuckleballer, of course he'll pitch well into his 40s,' is looking at the historical record with rose-colored glasses. I'd be happy to sign Dickey to the 2/26 contract that's been mentioned, but it's hardly guaranteed that a pitcher without a UCL and who relies on throwing a knuckler faster than anyone in history is going to be an above average starter at age 40. We're in uncharted territory, and even HOF pitchers struggle to stay in the league by 40.
That said, it's appalling that the Mets have to mull over signing their Cy Young winner and fan favorite to a short, obviously solid deal, especially when they have so much money coming off the books just as Dickey's new contract begins.
Dickey is as good a risk as any top pitcher you can sign for 2/30. Is he as sure a thing as a Cain or Hamels, of course not. But those guys get $100M+ contracts.
So you've proposed sending spare parts for Dickey? That's cute.
He's auditioning for a writing gig at Fangraphs.
Gose seems like a tough player to evaluate right now. Is he bound for AAA again this year, or are they going to give him a shot in LF with Davis? Wondering if the JP connection in the Met FO makes trades with Toronto more or less likely.
Edit: Gose hit .286/.366/.419 at Vegas, the team hit .298/.370/.455. Looks like he still needs another season.
Two stupids don't make a smart.
Also, I haven't read every comment but in the first dozen posts you get everyone except the author mocking the idea.
Gose is going to start the year in AAA, since the Jays acquired Cabrera to play LF. Davis will be the 4th outfielder.
Lil Jeffie was going around yesterday saying payroll is going to be a bit higher this year, so let’s figure $100m is the budget. With Bay deferring $15m and Wright deferring $8m, they have more than $30m to spend. Waiting on a resolution on Dickey doesn’t bother me – due diligence and all that, and I do believe they will keep him if they don't get what they're asking for .
Sandy’s non-Dickey to-do list:
1. Get 2 outfielders. He’ll re-sign Hairston, but is he really going into the season with either of the Dutch strikeout artists in CF? They’re not getting Bourn, so who’s left: Crisp, Gutierrez, Stubbs?
2. Get a RH catcher. What soured them on Shoppach anyway?
3. Rebuild the pen. He’s got Frankie Frank, Parnell and Edgin (maybe). He needs at least one solid arm, preferably LH, and then he can throw stuff at the wall. He hasn't been very good at this.
I could see the Jays unloading Davis, given that he'll be an expensive 4th OF. He doesn't seem to have a lot of fans up there, eh?
It's out? Online version comes out 12-14.
I think he's only making $2.5 million this year, so he's not ludicrously expensive for a fourth outfielder, and he seems well suited for the role - can hit a little, can steal some bases, can not embarrass himself in CF. I don't see them trading him until Gose is ready.
But you're right about him not having a lot of fans.
I was thinking the same thing this summer. You've got Parnell, and then even over the last few years I'm really trying to think of some more. Beato gave them a good first few months in 2011. But they haven't deveoped a lot of hard throwing relievers, unless I'm totally blanking
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