Mack Attack: August 14, 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Thursday, August 14, 2008

Playoff Race:
Cubs: 47
Brewers 51
Phillies: 55
Cards 56
Mets 56 Marlins 59
Astros 59

Mets optioned RHP Carlos Muniz to Triple-A New Orleans. The move was made to clear a spot on the roster for John Maine, who will be activated from the disabled list on Wednesday and start for the Mets. Muniz had a 5.40 ERA in 23 1/3 innings of work for the Mets. – Rotoworld

The Mets are 3rd in the NL with 24 outfield assists, behind the Phillies and Astros.

For those of you at the Olympics…

アトル・マリナーズのイチロー外野手は１２日、敵地でのロサンゼルス・エンゼルス戦に「１番・右翼」で先発 出場。５打数２安打と３試合連続のマルチヒットで連続試合安打を１７に伸ばした。城島健司捕手は出番なし。 マリナーズは３－７で敗れた。

(P Brandon Knight started USA’s first game (4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R), vs. Korea, and had a no decision… SS Emmanuel Garcia went 1-2 for Team Canada in their 10-0 victory against China)

Zephyrs:

It looks like the Mets will continue the experiment of converting P Willie Collazo into a starter. He tossed 6.0 innings Tuesday night, giving up only 1 earned run, lowering his ERA to 3.94. RP Tim McNab gave up 7 runs, 6 earned in 0.0 IP… don’t even ask what the ERA was… and guess who pitched the last 2 outs of the game? OF Valentino Pascucci.

B-Mets:

Big 1st inning Wednesday night:

Binghamton Bottom 1st

Fernando Martinez singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jeremy Slayden.
Jonathan Malo strikes out swinging.

Mike Carp singles on a line drive to center fielder Greg Golson. Fernando Martinez to 2nd.

Caleb Stewart walks. Fernando Martinez to 3rd. Mike Carp to 2nd.

Salomon Manriquez called out on strikes.

Shawn Bowman doubles (3) on a line drive to right fielder Jeremy Slayden. Fernando Martinez scores. Mike Carp scores. Caleb Stewart to 3rd.

Anderson Machado walks.

Jose Coronado singles on a line drive to center fielder Greg Golson. Caleb Stewart scores. Shawn Bowman scores. Anderson Machado to 3rd.

With Jose Sanchez batting, Jose Coronado steals (7) 2nd base.

Jose Sanchez called out on strikes.

The New York Mets announced today that pitcher Billy Wagner will join the Binghamton Mets for a Major League rehab assignment. He is slated to start Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. game against the Reading Phillies. The lefthander isn’t expected to throw more than 20 pitches. Wagner hasn’t played for the Mets since August 2nd. He’s was placed on the Disabled List on August 5th with a strained left forearm. The closer has a 2.30 ERA, 27 saves and 52 strikeouts in 47 innings with the Mets this season.

Signed by the Mets as a free agent prior to the 2006 season, Wagner has also played for Houston and Philadelphia during a Major League career that’s spanned 14 seasons and included four National League All-Star selections. The 37-year-old is sixth all-time and third among active pitchers with 385 saves, saving 30 or more games in eight different campaigns. Wagner is no stranger to rehabbing in the Eastern League. While with Philadelphia, he made a start for the Reading Phillies in 2004 while recovering from a strained left groin.

With Wagner starting, Eric Brown, Thursday’s scheduled starter, will come out of the bullpen after Wagner finishes his rehab stint.

Wagner becomes the third Major Leaguer to rehab with the B-Mets this season. Outfielder Moises Alou rehabbed with Binghamton in Connecticut July 8th and 9th. Pitcher Orlando Hernandez started at NYSEG Stadium on July 17th.

It was exciting to see Dillon Gee, Shawn Bowman, Mike Carp, and Fernando Martinez all in the same lineup… it sort of represented 4 different levels of prospects, all going up the chain… OF Caleb Stewart has hit home runs in back-to-back games, the second time he's done that this season. He's one of five B-Mets to hit home runs in consecutive games, joining Fernando Martinez, Mike Carp, Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy. The last B-Mets player to hit home runs in three consecutive games was Aarom Baldiris in the 2005 season. ... Ambiorix Concepcion, who went 1-for-3, struck out for the 20th consecutive game. That's one shy of the team record, set by Rob Stratton (never thought you'd see that name again, did you?)in 2001.

Lucy:

Roster moves: IF Luis Castillo was removed from the roster… OF Joe Holden changes numbers to #1

Clones:

Both Reece Havens and Ike Davis left the game early on Tuesday... and neither was in the starting lineup on Wednesday...

I was curious when both Jordan Abruzzo and Jose Jiminez were sent to Brooklyn, which one would be used for a DH. Both spent most of their 2008 season as one and I was hoping that Abruzzo would get some seriously needed behind the plate time. Well, he has and he is in Brooklyn. The Mets have only had one catcher prospect (Francesco Pena) since Jesus Flores was given away to Washngton, but many Mets coaches thing Abruzzo has the potential to become one also… SP Bradley Holt , P Chris Schwinden, and RP Yury Santana were named to the NYPL All-Star team…

I’ve seen a lot of reports pegging Ike Davis as a player with 30-homer potential, but I don’t see it. Davis is way too handsy, meaning that his hands get too far out in front of his body. He brings his hands to the ball when he ought to be letting the ball come to him, and in the process he should be turning his hands and hips together. Also, notice Davis' contact point: He is making contact far out in front, which is one way to diminish your power. There are players who can hit for power even when making contact far out in front—Miguel Cabrera is well-known for this—but most cannot. Davis' swing is more suited for line drives, meaning a higher batting average and more doubles. By most accounts, Davis has good hand-eye coordination and is able to square up the ball to the bat, but to reach 30 (or even 20) home runs, Davis will need to learn to keep his hands back and let the ball travel deeper. Grade: C - Hardball Times

K-Port:

Kingsport seems to have a good problem, one too many decent hitting catchers. Both Dock Doyle and Jean Luc Blaquiere have showed the ability to hit, thus, one doesn’t get to wear the catching gear every night. Tuesday night it was Doyle’s turn to DH… boy, do I hate DHing in the minor leagues. I wish all the divisions were separated by teams that are affiliates with only NL or AL teams (yeah, I know, the travel budget would triple)… Wilmer Fores has 4 walks in the last 3 games…

GCL Mets:

Another good outing by another young starter... Julio Bello (5.0 IP 5 H 0 ER 4 K 2.25) led his team to a 4-0 win over the Dodgers... Trot Nixon went 2-4...

Minor League Bios:

Jon Malo SS R R 6-0 180 9-29-83 Miami-Dade Community College

The Mets drafted Malo in the 40th round in 2002 and re-drafted him again in the 48th round in 2003. The draft-and-follow product first attended Miami-Dade Community College and then played for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. He was named the 2004 Region II Player of the Year. Malo is a native of Quebec, Canada and did not play for the Mets in 2004 because of work permit issues. After all that, 2005 didn’t pan out as prove he was worth the wait, playing sub-par for both Brooklyn and St. Lucie. 2006 brought another bad start at Brooklyn (.179/.309/.224) and a .239 BA at St. Lucie in 284 at bats. In 2007, Malo played for St. Lucie and hit .255/.322/.377 in 231 at bats. He also made only 6 errors in the infield all year.

Ex-Mets:

Scott Kazmir allowed just two runs on two hits in five innings, but took the loss against the A's on Tuesday. He struck out six and walked just two, but he needed 97 pitches to make it through the outing. He hasn't pitched more than five innings in any of his last four starts, and is just 1-3 since the beginning of July.

This Day in Mets History:

1969 - The eventual World Champ Mets drop to third place nine and half games behind the front-running Cubs.

2003 - Despite a massive blackout in the Northeast, the game between the Mets and the Giants at Shea Stadium is the only postponement on the major league schedule. Although Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland were without electricity, the Tigers, Blue Jays and Indians either had the day off or were playing on the road.

2007 - After being arrested for hitting two players with a bat, former big leaguer Jose Offerman is suspended indefinitely by the independent Atlantic League for the assault which occurred during a Bluefish and Long Island Ducks game. As a result of the incident, which was triggered when former the All Star after hitting a homer in his first at bat is drilled by a pitch and charges the mound with his bat, Bridgeport backstop John Nathans sustained a concussion and starter Matt Beech suffers a broken finger.

And lastly:

Dave Howard, the Mets’ executive vice president of business operations, brief reporters during the game about Citi Field’s ticket-pricing structure. Howard said the top ticket price at Citi Field is $495, for 76 front-row seats between the dugouts. Comparable seats at Yankee Stadium are priced at $2,500, he said. Howard indicated that 6% of Citi Field’s seats are priced at more than $200, with 31% of seats priced at $25 or less. As part of a five-tier pricing structure based on the attractiveness of the opponent and the day of the game, “value date” tickets will be available for $11-$12. “We’ve tried to do the best we could to keep this balanced,” Howard said. About two-thirds of the Mets’ 6,000 season-ticket accounts have received information about renewing their seats, with the others slated to receive info within two weeks, Howard said. – AdamRubin

The New York Mets signed a multi-year marketing agreement with Kosher Sports, Inc. to be the team's exclusive Glatt Kosher concessionaire at Citi Field. The agreement has Kosher Sports involvement in various Mets publications as well as in game programming. As part of the agreement, the two parties will also donate 250 tickets to various Jewish charities each year. - HBT