Category: Spring Training

Fernando Martinez Back To Minors

Fernando Martinez, among others, was sent back to the Mets minor league camp after the Indians game last night. He was hitting .340 this spring, but is still only 19 years old.

The move wasn’t surprising to most but it would be nice to see him get some time in the majors later this season. It wouldn’t do him any good to sit on the bench to start the season. He needs to play every day and he’ll get that in the minors.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that Martinez has set a goal for himself to play in Queens this season.

The Last Starter In The Rotation

Another position battle that’s been brewing all spring is the fifth starter. Neither El Duque nor Mike Pelfrey has taken complete command of this spot on the roster. This is another position on the team that will probably come down to the last week of spring training to force the Mets to make a decision.

El Duque hasn’t pitched much at all. He’s pitched a couple of simulated games including one today. David Lennon of Newsday reports that his velocity barely qualified as velocity.  Apparently he hit 81 mph and most pitches were in the 70’s. That’s not going to get it done…

Mike Pelfrey has been inconsistent so far this spring. Inconsistent is an improvement over his performance last season. He was completely overmatched by major league hitters for the most part. He has potential but just hasn’t put it all together. Some pitchers take some time to find it and some pitchers just never do.

My opinion is that El Duque is probably done. Who knows how old he really is anyway? There’s been a lot written this spring about his new, more subdued windup to alleviate health problems. He has foot problems and maybe some others that we don’t know about.

I think that Pelfrey will come away with the fifth spot in the rotation. I don’t know where that will leave El Duque. He’s said that he doesn’t want to relieve and I can’t see him going to AAA either. He may end up getting released with $6 million left on his contract. Hey, it’s been done before. Damion Easly was released by the Tigers with $14 million left on his contract in 2003. He played 36 games for the Rays that season before being released again. It happens.

Last Man in the Mets Bullpen

The seventh spot in the bullpen is one of the few position battles left on the Mets roster. In all likelihood it will come down to Joe Smith or Duaner Sanchez. Marty Noble for MLB.com profiles this position battle.

It’s premature to take a side on this issue at this point. We don’t really know what Sanchez is capable of. The only thing that we do know is that he hasn’t pitched in a major league game in almost a year and a half.

Joe Smith is more of a known quantity right now. He’s had his up’s and downs this spring. Maybe the Mets could take a chance on how hot Smith was coming out of spring training last season. Although I’m not sure that translates into this season.

Sanchez hasn’t shown that he can pitch more than once a week yet. That won’t help the Mets during the regular season. He may need to get his arm back in shape in AAA.

It’s just too early to tell who will win the last spot in the bullpen. I need to see both Smith and Sanchez over the next week and a half to decide who I’d like to see there.

Oliver Perez Makes Another Good Start

Bill Ladson of MLB.com summarizes the game nicely. I don’t need a long, drawn-out novel about a spring training game. The important thing is that Oliver Perez put together his second good start in a row. As I’ve said before here, I think spring starts are more important for Perez than anyone else on the team. I believe that he has the best stuff on the team except for Santana. Some may argue that Pedro has better stuff… but that was a few years ago. Perez needs to find consistency as early as possible. Today’s start is a good sign.

Oliver Perez

Pedro Martinez First Start A Success

Marty Noble reports for MLB.com that Pedro pitched well against the Tigers today. He pitched four scoreless innings (58 pitches) and gave up four hits. He was slow to cover first on a ground ball by Timo Perez of all people! All in all it was a successful outing.

“I’m right where I want to be,” was Martinez’s general self-assessment, the only assessment that matters. Continue reading “Pedro Martinez First Start A Success”