New Series: “On Deck”

In my new series at The Mets Report called “On Deck” I’ll preview the day from a Mets fan perspective, of course! This should serve as the guide for you to plan your day around. If there’s a day game, call in sick to work. If there’s a night game, avoid making plans or cancel them immediately with the first excuse that comes to mind. If there’s a blood drive at Shea Stadium, warm up your veins because you’ll be the first one in line.

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.

Starting Pitchers Ground Ball and Strikeout Categorization

I’ve mentioned Baseball Analysts before as a tremendous site if you’re into heavy statistical analysis. Their post today is somewhat revealing about starting pitchers performance from last year. They looked at the percentage of ground ball outs and strikeouts per batters faced. One of the statistical outliers was Johan Santana.

Santana had a higher than average strikeouts per batters faced but below average ground ball percentage. We’ve heard from the mainstream media, since he was traded to the Mets, about his performance last season. Specifically, that he gave up 33 home runs which is by far the most of his career. Hopefully, it’s not the beginning of a trend.

It was also interesting that Steve Trachsel was a statistical outlier in the area that pitchers don’t want to be in. He had a lower than average strikeouts per batters faced and ground ball percentage. They should have also docked him for taking two minutes between each pitch.

Paul LoDuca Sounds Off, Again

David Lennon of Newsday reports that Paul LoDuca is unhappy with his treatment by the Mets… after his contract ended!

When told that the Mets suggested that they couldn’t accommodate his demands for a three-year deal, Lo Duca flashed some temper.

“Are you kidding me with that?” Lo Duca said. “Seriously. There was never a phone call. The man [Omar Minaya] called my agent and said he was interested in me after they had signed [Yorvit] Torrealba. They had signed Torrealba an hour before that. I don’t want to throw stones and I don’t want to get mixed up in any of this stuff, but it’s ridiculous.That’s the bottom line.”

I am so glad that he’s not around this year for a variety of reasons. His off-field behavior was questionable at best.  The story of his teenage girlfriend that went public was a distraction.

Frankly, his play on the field wasn’t that great. His mouth was bigger than his bat. Last season he hit .272 with 9 HR and 54 RBI.  The Mets won’t miss him at all. How can a player that’s not even under contract anymore be upset about how he’s being treated? Stop you’re whining Paul, and enjoy your one year deal with the Nats.