Mack Attack: Father's Day Edition

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Sunday, June 15, 2008

The Mets acquired Trot Nixon, who had been playing for the Diamondbacks’ AAA Tucson team, where he was batting .309 with 15 doubles, 10 homers, 31 RBI, and a .437 OBP in 58 games and 181 at-bats.

Zephyrs:

The Zephyrs pounded out 16 hits and scored 9 runs on Saturday afternoon in a 11-9 loss in Oklahoma City. A wild back and fourth contest between the two clubs, the Redhawks jumped on Z’s starter Willie Collazo in the second frame scoring five runs. Collazo had been one of the more consistent Zephyr starters but on Saturday took the loss working six plus innings and allowed 9 runs on 9 hits and walked four. New Orleans rallied and tied the game with four runs in the third and a run in the fourth. Catcher Luis Alen in his first game with the Z’s bolted a solo home run, and added three hits in his debut. Michel Abreu had four hits and drove home four in the loss for the Z’s. Wes Littleton gets the win for Oklahoma after blowing the lead in the top of the seventh inning. Oklahoma evens the series at one with the second game of a split doubleheader on Saturday night.

Game 2: - Mike Nickeas hammered a grand slam in the fourth inning to break a two – two tie to deliver the Zephyrs a 8-3 win in Oklahoma City on Saturday night. The win pulls the Zephyrs within two games of the first place Redhawks. The Z’s scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning on a Valentino Pascucci two run single. The Redhawks responded with a pair of runs and tied the game. Michel Abreu doubled to start the fourth and Redhawk starter Kameron Loe walked the next two hitters. The bases were loaded and Nickeas blasted a shot to left. Loe left the game and took the loss. Brandon Knight worked six and third innings for New Orleans and earned the win. Knight retired 11 in a row and struck out 8 in the game. Pascucci added a solo home run in the eighth inning. The Z’s and Redhawks split the day-night doubleheader on Saturday with Oklahoma winning earlier 11-9.

B-Mets

Game was suspended due to rain with the score in favor of the B-Mets, 7-0. It will be part of a doubleheader tomorrow.

Gnats:

Jordan Abruzzo blasted a mammoth two-run home run off the top of the center field batter’s eye in the top of the 10th inning to lift Savannah past Charleston, 7-6, in South Atlantic League action Saturday night in front of 4,618 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The loss was a crushing defeat for the second-place RiverDogs, who learned midway through the game that they had an opportunity to tie Asheville for the Southern Division lead with one day remaining in the first half. The Tourists fell at Hickory, 5-3, and now have a magic number of one to clinch the first-half playoff berth. The best that Charleston can now hope for is a tie with Asheville. The RiverDogs would need a victory on Sunday coupled with a Tourists defeat for that scenario to play out. With their second come-from-behind victory in as many nights, the Sand Gnats improve to 33-36 on the season while Charleston slips to 44-26. Savannah has been a major thorn in the RiverDogs’ side this week, having now defeated Charleston four consecutive times dating back to last Saturday. With the game tied at 5-5, Savannah’s Jose Jiminez opened the 10th with a single to left off of Charleston All-Star closer Jonathan Ortiz (1-2). Abruzzo then belted his 2-run shot on a 1-1 count that hit the top of the batter’s eye in dead center field, a blast that likely traveled at least 430 feet. Charleston came back to score a run in the bottom of the 10th. With two outs, Bradley Suttle belted the first pitch he saw from reliever Jose Bierd (2-0) over the right field fence to pull the RiverDogs within one run. Bierd came back strong to fan Jesus Montero looking to end the game. Charleston squandered a 4-1 lead and lost for the second straight night following a big Savannah comeback. On Friday the Sand Gnats came from 3-1 behind to win with a four-run sixth inning rally. The RiverDogs had ample chances to win the game in regulation, but time and again could not come through with a key hit to widen the lead. Charleston stranded 12 runners on base in the first nine innings, seven of them in scoring position. Charleston pushed three runs across in the third inning against Savannah starter Elvin Ramirez. Ramirez went wild in the frame, loading the bases on two walks and a single. Then with the bags full, Ramierz issued his third free pass of the inning, this one to Dave Williams to score Austin Romine. Taylor Holiday followed with a sac fly to center to score the second run, and Justin Snyder pushed the third tally across with an RBI single to center.Savannah came back to score a run in the third on Casey Craig’s RBI double against Charleston starter Jason Stephens. The RiverDogs responded with their fourth run of the contest in the fourth. Williams opened with a double down the left field line and advanced to third on a groundout. He later scored on Snyder’s RBI double to right, which bounced off the top of the right field fence and back into play, nearly missing a two-run home run. The Sand Gnats knotted the score at 4-4 with three runs in the fifth against Stephens. Greg Veloz singled home Matt Bouchard, who had doubled to right, and Craig followed with another run-scoring double. Jimenez then reached on a Brandon Laird error at first base, moving Craig to third, and Craig scored on Abruzzo’s fielder’s choice grounder to tie the game. Savannah briefly took the lead in the seventh at 5-4, when Bouchard doubled to open the frame and Veloz walked. Craig hit into a double play, moving Bouchard to third, and Bouchard scored on Jimenez’s double down the left field line. But Charleston knotted the score at 5 apiece in the bottom of the seventh on a solo home run by Laird, his fifth of the season that sailed over the left field fence on a 2-0 pitch off of reliever Edgar Ramirez. For the night, Bierd pitched the final three innings and allowed one run on three hits while striking out three and walking one. Stephens went five complete innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. Jesse Hoover pitched allowed one run on a hit and a pair of walks in his one plus inning. Ryan Zink threw 2.2 scoreless innings and allowed three hits, while Ortiz pitched 1.1 stanzas and allowed two runs on two hits while striking out two. Savannah collected 14 hits on the night as Veloz and Jimenez each had three while Craig and Bouchard each had a pair. Abruzzo had three RBI while Craig had two. Charleston had a dozen hits for the game with Snyder accounting for three while Laird and Carmen Angelini each had two. Snyder paced the RiverDogs with a pair of RBI.

VSL Mets

Nada game duo tu-o el mucho raino

Minor League Bios:

Mike Carp 1B L R 6' 2" 205 06-30-1986

He earned ABCA All-American Honors for Region 8 coming out of high school.
Carp was picked by the Mets in the 9th round in the 2004 draft. He received a $60,000 bonus upon signing with the Mets. In 2004, Carp was assigned to the GCL Mets, where he had 4 HRs in 57 at bats. Scout.com ranked him as the 33rd top Mets prospect. In 2005, playing for H-Town, Carp posted 19 HRs and 63 RBIs in 313 at bats. He led the league in hit by pitches (21) and was named to the Sally league all-star game. In 2006, Carp finished 2nd in the FSL in RBIs (88), was tied for 3rd in total bases (221), and tied for 9th in homers (17). He also hit a very solid .287/.379/.450 and was named the top defensive first baseman in the league.

Carp showed an advanced approach for a young hitter, with excellent pitch recognition and the ability to work counts. Once he got ahead in the count, he showed the ability to drive the ball. Unlike most young power hitters, Carp looked first to use the opposite field rather than try to pull everything InsidePitch ranked him as the #7 prospect that year. Many Mets officials label him as the top 1B prospect in the system. On the down side, Carp hit only .238 in 151 Abs against left hand pitchers. Even more concern is the fact he hit only 3 home runs off those same lefties. OnDeck currently has him ranked as the 13th Mets prospect and considers him ‘very underated’. Sickles also has him 13th, with a C rating.

The Mets named Carp as the winner of the 2006 Sterling Minor League Organizational Player of the Year. Baseball America named him the 6th top prospect in the 2006 Florida State League. He played 2006 winter ball for North Shore in Hawaii where he led the league with a .301 BA (0 HR, 16 RBIs). InsidePitch listed him (in Nov 2006) as the 6th top Mets prospect. In December 2006, Scout.com listed Carp as one of the top 10 Mets prospects and the 10th best 1B prospect in all of baseball. Fantasyinfocentral.com ranks Carp as the #9 Mets prospect. Baseball Prospectus re-evaluated their top 10 Mets prospect list in December 2006 and placed Carp 8th, and labeled him “an average prospect”. John Sickles’ in his 2007 Top Mets Prospect list has him as #8, with a B- rating, and the comments “developing power bat to watch”. The important thing to remember about Carp is his age, or lack of it.
In January 2007, Rotoworld ranked Carp as the 6th top Mets prospect, stating: “since he's just 20, it wouldn't be much of a problem if he had to spend three more years in the minors. A future as a platoon first baseman seems likely.”

In February 2007, Scout.com ranked Carp as the 5th top Mets prospect.
2007 was a so-so year for Carp. He played a one rehab game for St. Lucie (.250/.250/.250 in 4 at bats), but played the rest of the year for Binghamton (.251/.337/.387 in 359 at bats, which included 11 HRs.

In September 2007, Carp was assigned to play in the Arizona Winter League (which is always a sign that the organization wants to invest more time and money in you).

In November 2007, Carp was named the 56th top baseball prospect by ‘Project Prospect’. Baseball America listed him as one of the ‘best of the rest’ in their Top 10 Mets Prospect list, and Scouts.com posted him as the 7th top Mets prospect.

In November 2007, ‘Project Prospect’ named him the 4th Mets prospect, saying:

Despite putting up similar line drive, ground ball, walk, and strikeout rates as he did last season in High-A, Carp failed to replicate his power and contact numbers in Double-A – .163 isolated slugging in St. Lucie vs. .136 in Binghamton. He’s also a below-average runner at best. However, we have some analysis that describes Binghamton as a very difficult place to hit home runs and only average for doubles-hitters. This may have led Carp into some funks. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder was relatively young for Double-A and still showed solid plate discipline. New Orleans isn’t much friendlier than Binghamton for home-run hitters, but we’re confident that Carp will show signs of improvement next season in Triple-A. He likely won’t be ready to make a big-league impact for another couple of seasons.

In February 2008, Rotoworld ranked Carp as the #3 Mets prospect, saying:

The left-handed-hitting Carp ranked sixth on this list a year ago after hitting .287/.379/.450 for Single-A St. Lucie. A rough 2007 followed, but he still has to move up with so few advanced prospects as competition. Carp might have had a completely different season if not for the broken finger he suffered in early May. He missed a month and a half and never showed much power after returning. It's likely that he'll resume showing 20-homer ability this season. His on-base skills are in question, but he might have a future as a platoon first baseman. It's doubtful that he'll ever be good enough to start against left-handers, and even if he bounces back this year, the Mets probably won't want to turn to him as Carlos Delgado's replacement in 2009.

Also in February 2008, ScoutingBook.com listed the 238 top prospects in 2008 baseball and they ranked Carp as 115th, stating:

A power hitter who swings hard and misses often, Carp is also saddled with horrendous L-R splits. In 2007 he hit only .238 with just three home runs (in 151 at-bats) vs LHP. Since his defense is unspectacular and he has no special baserunning ability, Carp needs to figure out how to hit lefties if he's ever going to be anything other than a reserve or platoon player. He's likely to get one last chance with the Mets in AAA this year, but if he does not perform, don't expect to see him on any prospect lists next season