Mack Attack: August 9, 2008

Posted Saturday, August 9, 2008

Pennant/Wild Car Race:

Cubs: 46
Milwaukee 51
Philly: 53
St. Louis 54
Mets 54
Florida 55

As a penalty for signing free agent outfielder Moises Alou following the 2006 season, the Mets' first round pick -- 29th overall -- was awarded to the San Francisco Giants. All is fair in love and baseball, though, and the Mets were awarded a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds when the Indians signed Mets' free agent reliever Roberto Hernandez. That pick, #42 overall, was used to select Oregon State righty Eddie Kunz. Kunz's selection was well-received, though many experts wondered whether he could be effective against lefties. I had a different take at the time: The Mets currently feature a lot of flyball pitchers, well-suited to the pitcher-friendliness of Shea Stadium. Perhaps liking what they have seen so far in Joe Smith, they took Kunz as another grounder-inducing middle reliever. A reach for the first round, perhaps, considering Smith wasn't taken until the third round last year. Or, perhaps the Mets are just a little bit superstitious: Kunz was born on April 8, 1986, Opening Day for their last World Championship team. – Eric Simon

The Nationals' Class AAA affiliate will almost certainly be elsewhere next season. The Columbus Clippers, a partner with Washington since last season, will allow its two-year agreement to expire at season's end, the team's general manager, Ken Schnacke, told the Columbus Dispatch. With the Clippers and Cleveland Indians likely to form a partnership -- one that will coincide with the opening of Columbus's new stadium in 2009 -- the Nationals could be part of a complex musical chairs game that changes numerous affiliations in the International League. The Indians might vacate Buffalo. The Mets might vacate New Orleans. The Blue Jays might vacate Syracuse. All contracts between those teams and their affiliates are expiring. Washington's Class AAA team could potentially wind up in New Orleans, where the Nationals based their Class AAA team until 2006. -- Washington Post

John Maine tossed 61 pitches in his simulated game. Jerry Manuel said how Maine feels Saturday will be a big indicator of where he is with his mildly strained rotator cuff, but the expectation is Maine starts Wednesday against the Nationals - NYDN

Zephyrs:

Chris Aguila ripped a three run home run in the top of the first inning to lead the visiting Zephyrs to a 5-3 victory in Memphis on Friday
night. New Orleans opened the game with consecutive singles by Jesus Feliciano and Andy Green followed by the three run home run from Agulia.

Memphis started injured St Louis Cardinal Adam Wainwright on a rehab assignment. Wainwright faced seven batters in the first allowed three runs on four hits and walked a hitter while retiring two hitters and took the loss. Blake Hawksworth replaced him and allowed a two run home run to Valentino Pascucci in the third inning. Nelson Figueroa worked seven innings and earned the win allowing one run. The win for Figueroa is his first over Memphis this season in three tries and his first since June 17th. Feliciano and Green led the club with three hits in the game

B-Mets:

SP Eric Brown (5.65) got off to a bad start again Friday night, giving up 3 runs in the first inning. Brown was dropped from the rotation earlier this year, but was put back on when Jon Niese was promoted to New Orleans. It will be interesting to see if this is his last start this year, now that Dillon Gee has been added to the B-Mets roster…

Game Update:

Eric Brown worked a career-high-tying eight innings, but the New Hampshire Fisher Cats defeated the Binghamton Mets 4-2 at NYSEG Stadium Friday. Binghamton’s loss evens the series at a game apiece.New Hampshire (51-69) scored three times in the first. David Smith drove in the first run with a double before J.P. Arencibia groundout scored another. Brian Dopirak brought in the inning’s final run with a base hit to center. Dopirak added an RBI single in the fourth to make it 4-0 before Brown (5-9) settled down and retired 15 of the final 16 he faced. The B-Mets (63-58) couldn’t muster anything off New Hampshire starter Brandon Magee until the eighth. Jonathan Malo doubled and Fernando Martinez followed with a two-run homer, chasing Magee (6-11) from the ballgame. However, Mike MacDonald retired all five he faced to earn his first save. - Mets.com

Lucy:

Roster moves - SP Dillon Gee sent to Binghamton, add RP Jose Bierd from Savannah

-no one earned a promotion more than Dillon did this year… he came to camp when everyone was talking about the other pitchers on his staff, and simply went to work and put up a great season… the 6-1, 195 pound22-year old went 8-6, 3.25, with a GO/AO of 0.86… I have Gee as the 11th Mets prospect because of great ability to control his game… no, there’s no 98 speed here, but I see him as a cross between Brian Bannister and Greg Maddox. Congrats to both him, and his father, who I know first hand is his #1 fan…

Luis Castillo played 2B again at Lucy Friday night in a rehab game…

Gnats:

Right-handed pitcher Jose Bierd has been promoted to High-A St. Lucie, the New York Mets announced today. He becomes the seventh Sand Gnat from the Opening Day roster to earn a promotion this season. Bierd, 23, went 3-1 with a 3.20 ERA and 8 saves in 50.2 innings for the Sand Gnats. He also registered 41 strikeouts to just 16 walks in those 50.2 innings. The Santo Domingo, D.R. native began the season with Savannah after spending 2007 with Kingsport. This will be his first appearance in High-A. Replacing Bierd on the Sand Gnats roster will be RHP Brad Burns, who was activated off of the disabled list today. He had been sidelined since July 2 with a right elbow impingement. Also returning to the active roster is Richard Pena. Pena was struck in the face during an at-bat in Greensboro on July 17 and received 27 stitches to his face. To make room for Pena on the active roster, B.J. Hubbert has been placed on the Kingsport roster.

C Francesco Pena had his 24th pass ball Friday night... the Sand Gnats did lose the first game of the doubleheader, 5-3, to Columbus... SP Mark Cohoon (4.50) struggled, though OF Casey Craig (.290) went 4-4... Craig is an interesting story that came to Savannah almost as an organizational player. he has hit A ball all year and has definitely earned a promotion to A+ in the spring. He's also a hell of a nice guy...

The Savannah Sand Gnats (21-25) dropped both games of Friday night’s doubleheader to the Columbus Catfish falling 5-3 in the first game and 5-2 in game two. In the first game, Columbus scored three runs in the first with two away to open up a 3-0 lead. With runners at the corners, Quinn Stewart hit a line drive to center that centerfielder Richard Pena misplayed and the ball rolled all the way to the wall. Stewart would clear the bases and score himself. After half an inning, Columbus led 3-0. Savannah would get one run back in the bottom half on an RBI single by Jefferies Tatford but Columbus would get it right back in the second. The Gnats scored a run in the fourth but left the bases loaded in their best scoring opportunity of the game. After fireworks were shot in between games, the Gnats jumped out a 2-0 lead in the second game with runs scoring in the third and fourth innings. In the third, Joaquin Rodriguez scored on a Casey Craig single, his sixth of the night. Craig would finish the day 6-for-8 between the two games. Scott Moviel was in line for the win when he left after five scoreless innings. In the sixth, reliever Brad Burns (0-1) allowed a two-run homer to Quinn Stewart to tie the game. Columbus would go on to take the lead for good in the top of the seventh when Shawn O’Malley doubled in Omar Luna. They would tack on two more before the inning was over. Austin Hinkle earned his 11th save for Columbus.

Clones:

While every other 18-year-old guy at Keyspan Park is worrying about what bar they’ll secretly hop to after the game, Jenrry Mejia has other things on his mind- getting hitters out. Looking more like a reggae singer than a professional pitcher, with a big, curly, brown afro sticking out of his cap and complete absence of facial hair, it’s easy not to think much of the baby-faced hurler when he’s on the mound. Regardless of his appearance though, Mejia has proven he belongs in Brooklyn and has made a habit of fooling hitters this season. Going a combined 4-1 with a 2.86 ERA with the Cyclones and the Mets other minor league affiliate in the Gulf Coast League, the youngster has opened up the eyes of everyone in the organization. “He has a bright future,” said catcher Jordan Abruzzo. “He has really dominating stuff and he has a lot of room to get better. He’s going to be a lot of fun to watch one day.” - DemBrooklynBums

Brooklyn's Chris Schwinden is getting accustomed to limiting opponents to just one hit. The 21-year-old right-hander struck out a career-high 12 over seven brilliant innings, combining with two relievers on a one-hitter as the Cyclones blanked the Lowell Spinners, 2-0, at Edward LeLacheur Park on Thursday. Schwinden (2-1), who was selected by the New York Mets in the 22nd round of June's First-Year Player Draft, tossed three innings of one-hit relief against State College on July 12 and followed it up with six one-hit frames against Oneonta six days later. The Visalia, Calif., native topped both of those efforts Thursday with the best outing of his professional career. "Basically I'm just trying to get better every day," Schwinden said. "There's always something new to learn. I'm working with the coaches and continually trying to improve. – MiLB.com

K-Port:

6-6 Michael Olmstead started Friday night’s game and did well (5.0 IP, 2 ER, 2.08)... but the real pitching hero was Brandon Moore who threw 4.0 innings of hitless ball (0.00)... Wilmer Flores (.333) knocked in 2 runs with a double... Aussie prospect Patrick Maat went hitless in his debut...

GCL Mets:

The GCL Mets lost to the Dodgers, 6-2, on Friday afternoon… Kyle Allen (1.42) threw 5.0 innings, giving up only 1 ER… OF Cesar Puello went 1-2, raising his BA to .286… 3B Jefry Marte had his 16th fielding error…

DSL Mets:

Remember this name… Ramon Acosta… he pitches for the DSL Twins… he’s currently leading the league with the lowest ERA… it’s, err… 0.00… that’s right, 9 starts, 5-0 record, 54.2 IP, 0ER… forget these 2 names... DSL Mets minor leaguers Leandro Geremy and Jose Valentin have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and have been suspended 50 games.

1983 Lynchberg Mets:

Outfield: Lenny Dykstra, Mark Carreon, Darryl Denby - Dykstra basically did everything. As a 20-year-old, he absolutely owned the Carolina League. The guy hit .358/.472/.503, and that doesn't even begin to do justice to his performance. Dykstra scored 132 runs and drove in 81. He stole 105 bases in 128 attempts. He drew 107 walks and struck out 35 times. He once knew a call was a wrong number, even though the person on the other end wouldn't admit it. Okay, I made that last part up. Point is, Dykstra had a great year. And of course, he went on to become a key cog for the 1986 Mets, hitting .295/.377/.445, swiping 31 bases and playing a solid center field. Carreon, a year younger than Dykstra, hit .334/.399/.418 at Lynchburg. Carreon didn't make it to the big club until '87, but he ended up having a reasonably productive career, finishing with a .277/.327/.438 line over parts of 10 seasons. No shame in that. Denby hit .278/.317/.436 in what turned out to be his best minor-league campaign. He never made it past Double-A and retired in 1986. - HardballTimes

Minor League Bios:

Zach Lutz 3B R R 6-2 215 6-3-86 Alvernia College (Pa.)

Lutz was the D3ielderBaseball.com National Player of the Year. He also was named PAC Player of the Year andpart of the All-PAC 1st team. His stats in his last year for Alvernia were .454/.541/.858, 12 HRs and 58 RBIs in 40 games.

The Mets drafted Lutz in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. He was signed and played the 2007 season for Brooklyn.

Ex-Mets:

The Chicago White Sox signed OF Jason Tyner.

C Paul LoDuca has signed a minor league deal with the Florida Marlins.

This Day in Mets History:

1988 - The Cubs play their first ever night game at Wrigley Field defeating the Mets, 6-4.

1999 - For the first time in major league history, five grand slams are hit in a single day. Cardinal Fernando Tatis, Expo Jose Vidro, Marlin Mike Lowell, Yankee Bernie Williams and Mariner Jay Buhner all connect to set the record

2006 - Former hometown hero, Mike Piazza, hits two home runs off Mets ace Pedro Martinez and nearly hits a third one in eighth inning in a 4-3 Padres loss in New York. The Big Apple fans give their ex-catcher an uncommon road curtain call after the round tripper, but aren't so kind the second time the backstop goes deep as he is greeted with boos and catcalls.