Mack Attack: July 19. 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Saturday, July 19, 2008

Pennant: Phils: 44 losses - Mets: 45 – Marlins: 46 - Braves: 50 – Nats: 61

Wild Card: Milw: 43 losses - St. Louis: 43 - Mets: 45 - Marlins: 46

Mets Fifth Starter - Can Pedro Martinez hold up? His recent track record makes that an open question, even more so with news that he received a pain-killing injection in his hip yesterday, pushing back his next start. With John Maine and Oliver Perez struggling with consistency and generally not as good as last year, should the real discussion be about the Mets’ no. 5 starter, or about a possible no. 2 starter? Status quo could rule here, given the Mets’ lack of tradable assets, Perez’s recent improvement, and Orlando Hernandez still a possibility within the next few weeks. – NYSun

Five MLB management people on hot seat - - Mets general manager Omar Minaya. Manager Willie Randolph took the initial hit for the Mets' failings the last two seasons. If the Mets don't make a division-winning push, look for Minaya to be called on the carpet. - Rocky Mountain News

Mets OF Ryan Church did not travel with the team as he continued his recovery from postconcussion syndrome. Although Church will be eligible to come off the disabled list Monday, Jerry Manuel said there was no timetable for his return. "His situation is still kind of ticklish for us," Manuel said. "He's feeling real good, he wants to do things, but we're being very cautious with him and rightfully so. He's champing at the bit to play." Church said last week that he felt better than he had since May 20, when he sustained his second concussion in three months. But Church was held out of action on three previous occasions. Each time he returned, so did the symptoms. -- NY Times

Luis Castillo isn't expected to be cleared for baseball activities for a couple more days. He's at the team's facility in Florida, and the Mets don't seem overly concerned about when their $25 million second baseman will be back. Damion Easley went 2-for-5 last night and continues to fill-in admirably - he's hitting .373 in July… Moises Alou will undergo season-ending surgery on his torn right hamstring on Tuesday. He'll miss the rest of the season, but that was already expected. The question now is whether he'll return for next season or retire… Orlando Hernandez will visit team doctors in New York after leaving his rehab appearance after one inning on Thursday. Hernandez reportedly felt discomfort in his surgically repaired right foot after covering first base on a ground ball hit by the first batter of the game. He finished the inning, but the foot continued to get worse. Obviously this isn't good news for Ol' Duque – Rotoworld

InsideEdge/ESPN ‘report card’ on:

Ryan Church Bats: L Total at Bats: 205

Category - % - MLB Avg. - Grade

Overall Effectiveness B
Well Hit Avg. of At-Bats .254 .234 B
Slugging % .512 .441 A
On Base Average .374 .338 B+
Quality At-Bat % (WH outs + 7p. outs + H + BB + HBP + SAC / PA) 45 % 44 % B-
Location Performance B- Well Hit Avg. of Swings: Location INSIDE .108 .078 B
Well Hit Avg. of Swings: Location MIDDLE (vertical) .217 .179 B+
Well Hit Avg. of Swings: Location OUTSIDE .074 .114 C-
Well Hit Avg. of Swings: Location UP .120 .111 B-
Well Hit Avg. of Swings: Location MIDDLE (horizontal) .153 .156. C+
Well Hit Avg. of Swings: Location DOWN .119 .102 B
Fastball Performance B Batting Avg. on Fastballs .390 .294 A+
Well-Hit Avg. of Fastball Strikes .120 .096 B
% of Fastball Swings Put in Play 43 % 45 % C
Offspeed Performance C- Batting Avg. on Offspeed Pitches .220 .240 C
Well-Hit Avg. of Offspeed Strikes .075 .078 C+
% of Offspeed Swings Put in Play 34 % 41 % D
Plate Discipline C+
Chase % Early in Count (Before 2 Strikes)* 19 % 19 % B-
Chase % with 2 Strikes* 43 % 38 % C-
Chase % of Non-Competitive Pitches (not near strike zone)* 20 % 20 % B-
Clutch Tendency B-
Quality AB % in Close/Late Games 37 % 43 % D+
Quality AB % with Runners in Scoring Position 53 % 46 % A
2 Strike Tendency D+
Strikeout % of PA's that reach 2 Strikes* 45 % 35 % D-
On Base Average with 2 Strikes .270 .271 C+
2 Strike Miss % of Swings* 28 % 20 % D+

Overall Grade B-

Evaluation of a Past Omar Trade:

11/15/06

Acquired: OF Ben Johnson

27 at bats with Mets - OOB

RHP Jon Adkins

Now AAA in Cincy

Traded: RHP Heath Bell

6-3, 2.15 for San Diego

LHP Royce Ring

2-1, 3.44 for Atlanta

-conclusion on trade… urgh

Zephyrs:

B-Mets:

-Fernando Martinez is finally beginning to flirt with the .300+ BA level, going 2-5 Thursday night and hitting .296 for the year…

None of the game’s best pitching prospects–Orioles righthander Chris Tillman, Red Sox righthander Michael Bowden, Phillies righthander Carlos Carrasco, Blue Jays lefty Brett Cecil and Nationals righthander Jordan Zimmermann–threw a single pitch in the game. A few pitchers did flash potential as solid bullpen arms, most notably the Mets’ Bob Parnell. The Binghamton right-hander sat with his fastball at 93-94 mph, touching 97 a few times. Parnell, who in 105 innings has a 3.94 ERA and a 76-49 K-BB mark, allowed a home run. With his non-fluid arm action and additional velocity in a one-inning stint (as a starter he operates in the low-90s, touching 95), the 23-year-old Parnell could end up in the bullpen, though the Mets will likely given him the opportunity to continue starting. - BA

Lucy: Rained out

Gnats:

-RP Nick Abel is down to a 0.93 ERA after posting 2.2 more scoreless innings Thursday night…

Only time will tell if Friday’s shut out of Savannah is the start of a new trend for the Grasshoppers; in the meantime they did their best to entertain the 8,302 fans at NewBridge Bank Park with one of the finest pitching performances of the season. Greensboro starter Alex Sanabia faced only three batters to start the game before the Hoppers gave him a comfortable four-run lead en route to the 5-0 victory. The game then turned into a pitcher’s dual as both teams pitched seven scoreless innings before Matt Dominguez capped off the Greensboro gem with a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning; it was his sixth of the season. Martinez led the offensive attack from the start and finished the night 3-for-4 at the plate.
Postgame Quick Stats - Win – Alex Sanabia (3-3); Loss – Manny Olivares (0-1); Save – None - Time – 2:49; Attendance – 8,302 -

Clones:

BA ‘Hot Sheet’: - #9 – P Brad Holt:

Age: 21 - Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K. - The Scoop: A supplemental first-round pick out of UNC Wilmington, Holt delivered his best professional outing yet by pitching seven shutout innings and striking out 10 in a game against State College. Holt struck out the game's first four batters and retired the leadoff batter in each of the first six innings. His first start did not go well, but since then Holt has allowed three earned runs in 20 2/3 innings, as hitters are struggling to catch up to his 94 mph fastball.

K-Port:

-Once projected SP Phillips Orta, is becoming quite the ‘long man’, tossing 3.0 more scoreless innings Thursday night and lowering his ERA to 1.13.

Minor League Bios:

Dan Hernandez 1B R R 6-4 240 3-23-85 Lamar University

Here’s some highlights from a local article about Hernandez’ career in college:
Hernandez, who was limited to 36 games due to injury this season, hit .315 with 17 runs scored, 12 doubles, four home runs and 22 runs batted in. For his two-year career, Hernandez hit .335 with 62 runs scored, 21 doubles, 13 home runs and 64 RBI. He was named second-team All-Southland Conference in 2006.

A native of San Carlos, Calif., Hernandez was named to the 2007 SLC All-Tournament team after hitting .455 (5-for-11) with two runs scored, a double, a home run and five RBI. He went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Lamar's 12-2 win over McNeese State. He went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI in a 7-3 loss to eventual SLC Tournament champion Sam Houston State. He was 1-for-4 with a 3-run home run that pulled the Cardinals within a run in a 7-6 loss to Texas-San Antonio.

Hernandez was signed by the Mets as a free agent after the 2007 draft. He was assigned to The GCL Mets, where he batted .182/.182/.455 in 11 at bats.

This Day in Mets History:

1998 - Blue Jays' first baseman Carlos Delgado becomes the first player to reach the SkyDome's fifth deck with his Ruthian home run to right field