Mets Turn Over Entire Roster in Single Day
OK, maybe they didn’t quite do that, but a lot of well-known names coming and going today. Let’s tackle them one-by-one.
Beltran to the DL. Obviously a big blow to the team, but it’s supposedly just a bruise and shouldn’t keep him out too long. On the plus side, if the Mets were as bad a team as you’d think how they’re covered in media reports, losing Beltran wouldn’t be a big deal, but it is. Ignoring for a second that perverse reasoning, F-Mart and J-Reed (doesn’t really work) will fill-in for him. Martinez’s recent stint with the team was obviously less-than-exciting, but he did show more power than he has so far for Buffalo and he’s ostensibly just 20. 266/308/468 translation for Buffalo.
Wily Mo Pena, Bobby Kielty, and Javier Valentin released. Kielty barely played, but both Valentin and Pena were among the better hitters on the team (the team’s hitting 239/299/343). One way to depress a minor league fanbase is to randomly release veteran players, so there’s probably some additional reason for the releases that haven’t been made public or the Mets just hate Buffalo. Maybe Pena killed David Carradine or something.
Connor Robertson and Wilson Valdez were both designated for assignment. Robertson was meh in mopup duty for the Bisons and Wilson Valdez played as he typically does, naturally leading to him being sent off the 40-man roster.
Elmer Dessens to the Mets. Dessens hasn’t contributed in the majors for a few years, but he really pitched quite well in Buffalo and the Mets will pull the trigger quickly if it doesn’t work out. 4.31 translation. Given that all the white relievers but Stokes have stunk while all the minority relievers have been good, perhaps Dessens will work out.
Pat Misch to the Mets. The Mets quietly picking up Misch is one of my favorite moves of the season so far. For years, Misch pitched excellently in the minors as a reliever and indifferently as a starter. In the majors, he has a 6.95 ERA as a starter and a 2.83 ERA as a reliever. So naturally, the Giants decided to give Misch some starts every year and act surprised when it doesn’t work out. Misch has a little too much Josh Towers in him to be a really good pitcher in the majors (disaster strikes when his control is off at all), but if left as a useful reliever that can go more than an inning, he can really help a team like the Mets that has a lot of uncertainty in the starting rotation.
Dan Szymborski
Posted: June 23, 2009 at 04:05 AM |
10 comment(s)
Login to Bookmark
Related News:
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. The Kids Are Enright (1k5v3L)I think that Giants' problem with Misch was that they want their LOOGYs to have an overpowering fastball and that's just not Misch (mid 80s). So they sign Affeldt (low 90s) and will continue to give an inferior pitcher like Hinshaw all the opportunities that he needs over the next few years even if they're undeserved.
In my opinion, the biggest problem with Misch is that he doesn't have anything approaching an effective changeup. He has an mediocre fastball (mid 80s with a little bit of movement, but nothing special) and a decent MLB-quality curveball (solid, but nothing special). But his changeup has absolutely no deception on it and MLB hitters will kill a flat 80mph pitch all day long. Soft-tossing lefties cannot survive for long in the majors without a reliably good changeup.
As for the ~2.85 ERA as a reliever... my recollection is that in 2007 and 2008 he was used almost exclusively in a mopup role when he wasn't starting. So it's possible that he wasn't pitching against really good hitters as a reliever (he only recorded 2 holds and 0 saves in his 27 relief appearances).
Also, the 6.95 ERA as a starter is a bit misleading. First, he only had 11 starts (55.2 IP, in which he gave up 43 ER). But the worst of the damage came in just two of his starts:
- 09/26/07: 4.1 IP, 8 ER (159th game of season)
- 05/25/08: 4.1 IP, 7 ER (1st game of doubleheader)
Bochy left him in a little longer in both starts because the context required that Misch give innings no matter how poor in quality (near end of season, needed IP in the first-half of a double-header). Take those two games out of the equation and he just gives up 28 ER in 47 IP over the remaining 9 starts. Still a mediocre 5.36 ERA, but more in-line with what you would expect (actually, that's almost exactly his 2009 ZIPS RoS). His main problem as a starter was that he struggled to get through even the 5th inning.
Finally, for whatever reason, I heard that Righetti and Misch weren't on good terms. One would think that Misch is exactly the type of pitcher that Righetti would be able to maximize. So Misch might do better under a different pitching coach. But even with the best coach in the world, the overall talent package is probably still just a AAAA swingman.
Too bad the Mets dealt away Carp in the winter. They could really use him now.
Frank Wren would take that call.
I was about to post that Wily Mo would be an upgrade in the 2009 Braves outfield. Of course, that says much more about the Braves' outfield than Wily Mo Pena...
I wouldn't say you missed anything, except that the Mets clearly need power and Wily Mo has demonstrated that at the big-league level. He's certainly not showing anything meriting a call-up this year, but it seems random to just cut a guy who's 27 and has hit Major League home runs when your active leaders in ISO are 40-year-old Gary Sheffield, Brian Schneider and Omir Santos.
I, too, wonder if he requested his release or had something in his contract. Otherwise it's strange.
he cant hit anything thrown his way that isn't a flat fastball; any pitch that breaks or curves and Wily Mo is lost.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main