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April 12, 2006
Multiple Weapons
So, the season has started out pretty well for the Mets, huh? 5-1 record, on top of the division and averaging a little over 6 runs of game. Yes, that is correct… 6 runs a game. And know what is interesting? One of the key offensive players from last year hasn’t even started hitting yet. Cliff Floyd is hitting .167/.273/.222. Yes, you read that correctly… he is hitting .167. Yet, the Mets are scoring all these runs. Why? Increased firepower. The great thing about the Mets lineup this year as opposed to last is that they don’t have to rely on any one or two players to get the job done. If Cliff Floyd hit .167 with no power over any 6 game stretch last year, you knew the Mets offense was in trouble. But this year, look at what has happened. Xavier Nady got off to a torrid start. Despite going 0 for his last 7, he is still hitting .391, just to put in perspective how hot he was in the first few games. Paul Lo Duca has given the Mets 3 multi-hit games in this young season to give him an average of .348. Jose Reyes is batting .358 and despite only batting .238, Carlos Beltran is showing signs of starting to heat up and being that player the Mets expected when they signed him. Carlos Delgado, the big addition this offseason, is hitting .333 and is being the presence we expected in the middle of the lineup. And then, of course, there is David Wright… .435/.444/.826 I felt that deserved its own line. Anyway, there is no way you can expect some of these guys to keep hitting this way (yes, even Mr. Wright), but that is the nice thing about this offense this season. With so many weapons, guys like Cliff Floyd can afford to have weeks where they only hit .167. Other guys will pick up the slack and when they struggle for a few days, the other guys who were struggling will be there to pick them up. Cliff Floyd will hit. That is not an issue. But the fact that he hasn’t so far this season and the Mets have been able to score about 6 runs per game makes me very excited because there was little to no chance of that happening over any 6 game stretch last year if Cliff wasn’t delivering. And really, I’m just excited about this team in general. How can you not be? Sure, I’m concerned about Bannister’s strike to ball ratio (55% for a control pitcher is way too low), Billy Wagner’s struggles in the early going and whether or not Anderson Hernandez will produce enough with the bat and subsequently, whether he will out-produce Brandon Watson at the plate (they are both batting .174, but Watson has him in OPS because he has walked once. But, remember, Brandon Watson is batting leadoff and is keeping Ryan Church in Triple-A). But for now, I’m pushing those concerns away because, well, the Mets are 5-1. And really, as a fan, how can I complain with that? 66 Responses to “Multiple Weapons”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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Bannister doesn’t walk a single batter in 7 and you’re worried about his control? He’s consistently around the strike zone, and just not giving in to major league hitters.
It’s Cliff’s walk year; you can be certain he’ll have min .800 OPS by September…
David Wright with the teenage screams not only from teenage girls, but also grown men… he’s bigger than Jesus, what?
How did Pelfrey do tonight, by the way?
Reyes and Wright are looking more confident at the plate this year - especially Jose, who seems to have a better grasp of what he’s doing up there. He’s showing a nice combination of agression and patience. I’d like to see him walk a little more, but it’s early in the season and I like what I see so far.
Well, he’s still walking at an infinitely higher pace than last season…..
Nice one, Tim in LA. Just what I was thinking when I read Jeremy’s piece. I had a good laugh over his concern about Bannister’s strike to ball ratio. That stat today had as much value as the size of his underwear. When it comes down to it, the only thing that matters is the W.
This article is brought to you by the guy who wrote a “Billy Wagner is Dominant” piece the day before Billy gave up his first blown save.
So you all can expect Tony Armas to shut out the Mets tomorrow.
there is no doubt that having delgado now in the cleanup spot makes the entire lineup
that much stronger. last year for the first half of the year, the Mets had piazza in the 4 hole.
that alone is a huge difference.
reyes still hitting above .300 has been sweet, however he still struggles with those BB’s.
laduca has been a pleasant surprise so far in the 2 hole. however he has always been a good
first half of the season player, and fades later on.
i’ve always wanted wright to be in the 3 hole, however, for right now, he is getting the rbi opportunities.
nady i feel will be a very streaky hitter. he got off to an unconscience start, however i wouldn’t be
surprised if he now goes 2 for is next 30 atbats.
hernandez defense, what can be said. outstanding………its about time someone can field secondbase.
i hope he can get his average up to at least .230……that should be the absolute minimum. if he can’t,
then bring up keppinger. send matsui a one way ticket back to japan.
i’m still amazed why they gave jose valentine a guaranteed 1 million dollar contract. he sucks……
hopefully randolph will eventually give up on the guy, however it won’t happen soon enough.
I think Reyes has been far better with the eye. He’s not swinging at the junk he did last year. I think his low BB total this year (which is high compared to last) is due to pitchers just throwing him more strikes.
It is so hard to root for Valentin. He must go before we start on Matsui.
Bannister has some really nice pitches. And he can hit! His Dad talked about it when KHern interviewed him. He’ll prove to be our best hitting pitcher.
I think we’ll fare well against Armas tomorrow. look at how Armas fares…
AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
Floyd 21 9 2 0 0 6 5 2 .429 .517 .524 1.041
Delgado 9 5 3 0 0 3 5 0 .556 .714 .889 1.603
Beltran 8 3 0 0 1 3 1 1 .375 .444 .750 1.194
Lo Duca 6 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 .500 .500 .667 1.167
Reyes 5 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 .400 .500 .600 1.100
Wright 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
I just watched Armas pitch against Houston. The man looked better than he has in yrs.
Off topic but I just got an email from a friend (dodger fan)
Subject: Re Jae Seo
and inside all he wrote was this:
He sucks!
sorry for the poor formatting of mets batters v. Armas, but the highlights are
Floyd 9-21, 5BB, 6RBI, 2 2B
Delgado 5-9, 5BB, 3RBI, 3 2B
Beltran 3-8, HR, 3RBI
Lo Duca 3-6, 3RBI
Reyes 2-5, BB!
Wright 0000000000000000000000
Only 3 K’s in a total of 65 plate appearances by all against Armas.
I’ll take those odds anyday.
As the great Winston Wolf once said, “Let’s not start sucking each other’s d@@@s just yet fellas…”
Living in VA under the Angelos imposed blackout I’ve only seen the marlin games. But I hope
everybody can retain their jusdgement until after they play a real team.
I really like the players, but I still have questions…
1. Why is Carlos still batting 3rd in the same lineup as the earlier proclaimed “JESUS” of Flushing.
2. It’s going to be a long time before somebody can convince me that Andy Hernandy is better than
Keppinger. I’ve seen both of their swings coming through Richmond… Kep is solid, Hernandy has more holes than a wheel of swiss cheese. Andy has more range, but Keppy is solid. I thought Keppy should have been the guy last year and he’s stuck. Viva Los Metsos!!!
3. Wagner looks shakey… I’m not going to repeat that… because I will reserve judgement until after the first for real Braves series… or a night in Yankee stadium… How many times have we thought we had the
lock when they found the KEY!
4. Floyd is going to come around, and Nady will cool a bit. It’s a solid lineup…
but I can’t see not using ALL of the talents of Beltran AND Wright… WHY…WILLIE…WHY?
My prediction: In June people are looking for Willie’s head for the above reason. Not Me..
I just want an answer… I’ll also be lookingfor one when Keppy is hitting .340 in NOR and
Andy is sporting a solid doscientos y veinte cinco. Of course you won’t have that speed
in front of the pitcher if you bring him up… ay dios mio!!!
Here’s to the great start… and the promise of a wonderful summer.
Let’s Go Mets!!!!
I haven’t read the rest of the comments yet… but wait… Emad… are you secretly Steve Somers?
Looks like Seo has given up 8ER in 8IP with 4HR. Sounds like Jorge Julio type numbers.
Seo for Julio
Benson for Sanchez
that sounds like the way those deals should have gone.
O’s win
Dodgers lose
Mets break even
What’s this you’re talking? No.
Jose Reyes, RBI Machine is jealous… he’s jealous of the Schmoozer and jealous of the FIRST PLACE NEW YORK METROPOLITANS! They are New York’s finest. You know that.
No pitcher throwing 55% strikes is going to be any good unless his name is Ryan or Wood. That’s a truism. He went to 3-ball counts on guys like nine times tonight. He’s not going to be able to gut it out all the time going to 3-1 counts all the time. This is the classic Process v. Outcome argument. He did well tonight, but don’t expect it to last if he can’t throw more strikes.
Thanks to an otherwise useless couple of years of high school Spanish, I can read that. I rule.
I think Cruz nailed this one. When you’re batting almost .400, you don’t have a lot of opportunities to walk. You’re putting good pitches into play early in the count. I expect he’ll always have a low walk ratio due to his basestealing ability. Pitchers simply DO NOT want him on base.
If I’m pitching to him, I’d take the chance of him doubling off me rather than give him a free pass to first.
And the Sultan of Shot went yard tonight for the first time this season! He seems to have finally found his power stroke once again… what an inspiration to us all… he must have had a shot… I mean KICK… in the butt at just the right time! What, the whole thing.
No one has remarked on this yet, so I have to:
When SNY replayed Dick Cheney’s ceremonial first pitch, which bounced to the right of home plate, Gary Cohen said, with a completely even tone, “Cheney’s aim hasn’t been great this year.”
I dunno if Darling even got it, he made no comment, but I was cracking up.
Jose, I’m sorry to disagree with you, but the outcome is ALWAYS more important than the process. As long as he wins, his strike to ball ratio is irrelevant.
OKAY last comment I promise.
Check out Jose Reyes’ RBI total. Need I say more? This doesn’t always happen, but I’ve been downright Nostradamus on your asses this season.
.455 with RISP. He’s a machine.
ya got to love gary cohen.
Mets TV has gone from one of the worst broadcasters (Healy) in history of the game, to one of
the best (Cohen).
Cohen is a joy to listen too, and makes the game interesting.
i no longer have to mute the sound on my TV.
Has anyone seen this clip about the 86 series? It is outstanding! BTW, Mets World Series is inexpensive at Costco, and Mickey Stern is inexpensive at BestBuy.
http://www.sandiegoserenade.com/2006/04/1986_world_series_game_6_reena.html
Yes, in the first inning, Jason Giambi injected some power into the rear of the Yankee lineup. Yankee fans are feeling cocky, they’re feeling arrogant… but us Met fans know those feelings are just a side effect of the cream and the clear.
Sure, today worked out fine. But if he did that on a regular basis you’d have to worry… because a lineup better than WAS would ruin him. It would lead to a lot of Zambranoesque 5-inning starts.
Oh no!!!
I wonder what Delgado did.
Jose, I don’t worry when they win, only when they lose. Do I worry that Jose Reyes is not getting enough walks at bat? Not if he continues to hit triples everytime he’s up there. A pitcher can have an excellent strike to ball ratio, but if he gives up a homerun on every 0-2 count, he’s a loser. Another pitcher could go 3-0 on a hitter, then induce a groundout. He’d have a horrible strike to ball ratio, but if he does that 27 times, he’s just thrown a perfect game. I’d rather have the pitcher that knows how to win than one who has great stats and no wins to show for it.
First of all, thats absolutely hilarious. Secondly… if its the VP… is the catcher obligated to block it into the dirt if its offline or what? What, the whole thing!
Who is this guy?
More importantly, how can we get Valentin to test positive?
re: Bannister — there’s a reason why he had ZERO walks. When he had to throw a strike, every single time, he threw a cutter or a curve with good movement, and got it over.
I’m actually a process guy, I want to win consistantly, and so I care about much more than just one game’s outcome. But he dominated the game. He could have thrown a strike any time he wanted. He refuses to be wild in the strike zone, and he doesn’t give in. I love that.
And I’m sick of that BABIP crap. Tell me again that all those jam-jobs are random, that it has nothing to do with how well a guy is pitching?? Give me a break. Some people need to get their heads out of the stat books and just watch them game — or at least if you’re a stat junky, know your limitations. Does anyone have stats on Bannister’s ball/strike ratio in the minors? Is there any evidence that this isn’t just how he operates, working all over the zone, unafraid to throw a ball?
Cruz, I try to stay blind to the players’ politics, because I know if I realized which ones were Republicans it would make me want to puke. But I really hope Wright was just agog at the office, and not the officer.
Reyes is a fast twitch athlete. Right now you want his reflexes and his vision, and this year, his improved patience. Who G.A.S. if his walk ratio is low, the guy sees the ball like a traffic cops radar gun. Let him hit.
Keppinger .235/.391/.294/.685, 1 error
Kepp has more walks (5) than base hits (4). If we were desperate for a #2 hitter he would be the guy but give the 2Ber is hittins 8th, Hernandez far superior range/glove make him the right call.
One of the best things about SNY is the fact that now when there is a middle of the week day game, it can be replayed at night. When they were on Fox or MSG, there was always a hockey or basketball game that would not allow this.
It is a beautiful thing.
Can’t wait for Saturday, going to my first game of the season.
Bannister has given us two starts. One start he had massive butterflies and on his second start, he was calmer and was much more in control. I think we’ll all see another improvement in his third start or at least overall. Let’s not get crazy about his strike to ball ratio yet. Lets give him some time to continue to settle down. What I’m really interested in is how he bounces back from a terrible start.
BTW, is anyone else hoping for a bench clearing brawl tonite?? I know I am!!
Three early season observations:
1) Floyd might not be hitting, but Wright has seen MANY better pitches because teams don’t want to pitch around the righty to face the lefty (with the most notable case being the game winning sac fly vs. Florida when Girardi admitted after the game he felt he had to take his chance against Wright). Last year, when Wright batted behind Floyd, this was not the case at all. Beltran-Delgado-Wright-Floyd is a tough, tough stretch for any pitcher and against most bullpens this should be good for 1-2 runs in the 8-9 innings.
2) If AHern can bat .220, I’d say there is a decent argument that his defense cancels out the incremental value of Keppinger’s bat. The fear is that he’ll bat .170, which makes the argument to keep him even more difficult. I wonder if the team has concidered making him a full-time RHB, since he seems terrible when he’s hitting from the left side. Does anyone have his splits from the minors? I’m wondering if this is a sample-size thing, or if he’s always had trouble as a left-handed hitter.
3) ONE MAJOR CAUTION: Where AHern has underproduced, our amazingly pitcher-sluggers have been our secret weapon and this will certainly not continue (though ideally some will be balanced by AHern improving):
Overall: .381/.381/.524 (for a .905 OPS)
All except Valentin: .471/.471/.647 / 1.118 OPS
Pitchers: .500/.500/.667 (6-for-12 with 5 Ks, 2 2Bs, and 2 RBIs)
Pinch hitters: .222/.222/.333 (2-for-9 with 4 Ks, 1 2B, and 0 RBIs)
Valetin: .000/.000/.000 (0-for-4 with 3 Ks)
I suppose complaining about the 25th guy on the roster is a bit overkill, but Valentin leaves a lot to be desired. I’d rather have Bell on the roster, particularly if Willie is going to pull his pitchers after 6 IP and not trust Oliver in any situation where the lead is 4 runs or fewer. Over the long haul, the extra rest that Heilman and Sanchez will get could be the difference between making the playoffs and succeeding in the playoffs. And since Valentin seems to be the first guy off the bench (which is craziness in itself), I’d rather remove the temptation from Willie of using the only non-productive player on the whole team.
But again, when you are complaining about the 25th player, things are good.
Just out of curiousity, can anyone find out what Wright’s average is with the game tied, the mets up by one or the mets down by 3 runs or less (which has not been very often so far)? He seems to get the clutch hit every single time we need it. Like yesterday, he was 1-4 with one RBI but his hit and RBI got us off the shnide against Ortiz and opened the floodgates for us. Maybe on an off day he’ll cure cancer for us all.
I was looking at david Wright’s stats for that “Beat the Streak” game at MLB.com and I noticed something…
David Wright has NOT struck out yet.
Doesnt any1 except me miss tom seaver announcing? anyone miss john olerud playing 1st instead of raving about delgado? (he is very nice though)
Nady is a streaky hitter for sure. But what I’ve been selling for a while now is that the guy obviously has the talent to be a solid starter if he can learn to play the game in between his ears. Luckily the Mets have enough ‘O’ to let him play it out for a couple months…
BTW, is Rickey still mulling around anywhere? I don’t see him on the Surf Dawg roster yet and I’d like to think my opening day $6 ticket gets me a Rickey ‘lead-off walk..”
I still hear Healy in my nightmares.
“Pick it wilson!” and “can of corn”
I’m not crazy about Valentin either, but I can’t quite understand the people who complained with his AB yesterday. The guy had a 10-pitch at bat, and yes he struck out, but if he can keep that up I can live with him. Doesn’t mean I think he’s the answer, but let’s be fair.
I gave a little preview of how a brawl might shake out on my site, if interested, but I hope there isn’t a brawl, actually. The team is playing so well, I don’t want any suspensions or knicks and knacks potentially suffered in a brawl to get in the way.
I’d much rather see 7 strong from Pedro and a 1-2-3 9th inning from Billy Wags.
But does jamming someone inside guarantee an out? how many broken bat bloop singles, or little jam piece floaters over the infield have you seen in your life?
Just the opposite is true too. Just because you hit a ball hard doesn’t mean you’re going to get a hit. You gotta “hit’em where they ain’t.”
27 Strikeouts will lead to 27 outs. 27 jam shots could lose you the game.
from espn insider
Come on. bring him back. Jose Valentin has never been a bench player in his career. This guy is the best of the best when it comes to pinch hitting. He can play about as well defensively as valentin too. thats not saying much, i know
Valentin strikes out way too much to be a good pinch hitter. You really want someone to put the bat on the ball in a PH role and that is not Valentin. The Mets historically have had good pinch hitters (not necessarily a good thing b/c the need for a PH usually means you are losing), and the Ed Kranepool’s, Rusty Staub’s, Danny Heep’s, Lee Mazzilli’s, Lenny Harris’ and Marlon Anderson’s were for the most part good contact hitters who got on base at a good clip.
I think A Hern sticks around for awhile. You have to give him at least 100 Ab’s to judge him. I much rather have his glove than a bat in that spot.
Responding to an earlier post, Keppinger may be drawing some walks at AAA, but he drew very few in his 150 or so AB’s with the big club in 2004. I like Kepp but it looks like he is the odd man out.
Heath Bell will play an important role for the Mets before the year is over.
And somewhere far away a single tear drop rolls down Matt Franco’s cheek.
It’s a matter of the simplist physics — velocity = distance/time. A ball traveling faster, say 50ft/s, will only give an infielder 2 seconds to react, which means 2 steps worth of range. A jam-job going 10ft/s will give an infielder 9 seconds, and most of the diamond is covered. And that’s not even considering the trajectory.
How many bloops off the handle fall in? I think saying 1 in 5 is generous, but even if we go with that, it’s a .200 BA, and a .400 OPS. One single every other inning. I’d take 27 jam-jobs every day of the week, and we’d be 162-0. Sure, strikeouts are better, but the most important thing any pitcher can do is not let the batters consistently hit the ball hard. When the do that, the odds will take care of themselves.
Ok, this is moving off topic a little bit. But can the A-Rod style nicknaming please stop for God’s sake? When you’re talking about Floyd Bannister being interviewed by Keith Hernandez and you’re calling Keith KHern it has simply gone too far. Not to mention that it just feels so… ESPN. Ugh.
So a couple of questions.
When are the guys that were killing Minaya for Seo/Sanchez gonna eat some crow on these message boards?
How come none of the guys ranting about Willie’s unwillingness to juggle the lineup when subs are starting mentioned sliding Nady up to the 6 hole and putting Diaz 7th the other day?
All this is to say that the worst of many bad things about chronic complainers is that they never seem to be around when their criticisms are proven to be unjustified.
I personally only do this b/c im lazy and I dont want to keep writing long names over and over. Think of how many hernandez’s we’ve talked about the past 6 to 8 months. We’ve had ahern, rhern, Khern and even Rahern (ramon Hernandez). Heck tomorrow we’re facing Lhern.
Did anybody see that Mike Jacobs stole 2nd and 3rd base off Piazza last night. Thats more stolen bases than he has had in 3 seasons combined
Im sorry. I meant Jacobs stole 2 bases today off piazza, not last night
That is sad. It almost seems a little like he’s showing him up. But still, pathetic on Piazza’s part.
Hey Geeks,
I’ve been meaning to say this for awhile. When is this board gonna get a real forum instead of just having to comment on posts? Seems overdue.
When we find a bunch of people willing to spend all day moderating said boards for free. So, probably never. It’s been discussed, but posting in comments is the best situation.
Reyes looking fine at bat tonight: first at bat to lead off the game he worked an eight pitch count (before poppingout); second at bat he positively ripped a line drive right into Armas’ glove.
That’s too bad. There’s a lot of good discussion on here but it’s so difficult to track due to the nature of the comments section. It seems like folks aren’t really using the comments to comment on the article so much as a de facto forum.
This begs the question… how is this different than having boards with no moderator? Also, other sites with fewer writers seem to be able to handle this. Why does one need to moderate all day? Do you really think it would be difficult to get couple regular posters do volunteer as moderators? Guys like sweetlew and Jose Reyes RBI Machine seem to be on here all the time.
I’m just throwing it out there and not really meaning to be critical. It would really take the site to another level.
Also Beltran singled in his first at bat and then just made a great running/tumbling catch on a shallow pop-up to end the second inning. Looks like he’s breaking out of his funk in a real way. Armas also looks great for the Nats though - nasty stuff so far, and he’s getting ahead of hitters.
They may be cheesy singles, but with his speed, I will take Hernandez on base in any way. And after starting the year 0-three games, he has four game hitting streak.
Without a doubt the most dramatic play of the game just now. The Nats loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth against Pedro with a bloop single, a walk, and a bunt single. Bases loaded, nobody out and Pedro blows a fastball by Vidro to strike him out. Now it’s one out and, who else, but Guillen is up. Pedro induces a groundball and Reyes/Hernandez turn one of the prettiest double plays you’ll see all year. Brendan Watson bearing down on him, the guy just hung in and fired a bullet to first. I’ve been a “free jeff kepp” guy but Hernandez has won my vote. Unbelievable play.
Oh, and Armas was removed for a pinch hitter and Rodriguez is now on the mound in relief. Hopefully we can break though against this guy because they weren’t doing too much damage to Armas.
Nice to see Beltran turning it on. 2-3 at this point.
Mr Wright now has 2 triples this season. Watch out Jose :)
Pedro bearing down, bases loaded, no outs. Strikes out Vidro, then gets Guillen to ground into a double play.
LETS GO METS!!!!
This is the fifth game Fifi Rodriguez has pitched in against us so far this year — we scored off of him in four of them.
I hope they never suspend that guy!
I like Kepp, never thought he got a fair shake, but I don’t get the argument.
Pitching and defense win championships. With this line-up, we can take an offensive black hole at 2B. But, I don’t think Hernandez will end up being a “black hole.” He might never hit for power, but I think he will get alot of cheap singles.
Bannister pithed great yesterday, he has at least done better than Scott Erickson. But he did not walk anyone yesterday so his control is not an issue. David Wright is going to be the best player in franchise history, enough said there. If the Mets are averaging 6 runs a game without Floyd hitting, imagine what they will do when he starts to get hot.
Sorry I meant pitched.
that dp with the bases loaded shows y aherns defense is so valuable.i mean i like keppinger but id take that play over maybe three more walks and two more singles kepp would get out of the 8 spot than ahern
and for those who didnt see billy hit 99 today.fastest pitch ever thrown by a met?????
It wasn’t like Bannister was missing by much yesterday when He was missing it was usually by an inch or two, and he kept missing low in the strike zone compared to game 1 when he was missing everywhere. I for one won’t worry about his control if he keeps on making his fastball move the way it was moving on Tuesday.