Mack Attack: July 25, 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Friday, July 25, 2008

Pennant: Mets: 47 losses - Phils: 48 – Marlins: 48 - Braves: 53

Wild Card: Milw: 43 losses - St. Louis: 46 - Phils: 47 - Marlins: 48

The New York Mets released RHP Juan Padilla and placed SS Ignacio Medrano on the suspended list.

The Rockies' Brian Fuentes and the Pirates' Damaso Marte would be good insurance policies, but one name that seems to have dropped off the Mets' radar is the A's Huston Street, according to a person familiar with the situation. The other two, however, will be costly in terms of talent, with other teams asking for their top prospects at Double-A Binghamton: Jonathon Niese, Eddie Kunz and Daniel Murphy. – Newsday

For all their desperation, the Mets have yet to give a single at-bat to New Orleans outfielder Val Pascucci. It's inexplicable. This year, Pascucci, a 29-year-old veteran of the minor leagues and Japan, is hitting .277 AVG/.403 OBA/.503 SLG. As Baseball Prospectus has it, that translates to a .252/.359/.486 line in the majors, which is about as good as Ordonez's line -- or Vladimir Guerrero's. Given the ample proof suggesting that properly adjusted minor league statistics are every bit as predictive as major league ones, and that Pascucci has been putting up identical lines since 2004, it's pretty clear that the Mets are simply sitting on a player who would be something like the fourth- or fifth-best hitter in their lineup. ... General manager Omar Minaya should call up Pascucci today, because unless he's talking to Barry Bonds's agent, there aren't better options. -- NY Sun

InsideEdge/ESPN ‘report card’ on:

Michael Pelfrey Total Outings: 19 Total Pitches: 1977

Category…. Grade………. MLB Avg…. Grade

Working Ahead in Count C 1st pitch strike % 59 % 58 % B
1 of first 2 pitches for strike % 85 % 85 % B-
2 of first 3 pitches for strikes % 58 % 60 % C
% of 0-1 counts that become 0-2 counts 38 % 47 % D
% of 1-1 counts that become 1-2 counts 53 % 53 % B-
Command C- Strike % of fastballs 66 % 64 % B
Strike % of offspeed pitches 45 % 61 % F
Finish Off Hitters D 2 strike at bats becoming outs 64 % 72 % D
Offspeed Effectiveness C- Well hit average vs. offspeed strikes * .070 .076 B
% of offspeed pitch chased 17 % 31 % F
Overall Effectiveness B+ Well-hit average (of AB's) * .211 .267 A
Well-hit average (of strikes) * .076 .102 A
On-base average against the pitcher * .356 .338 C+
% of batters faced who score * 10 % 12 % B
Dominance C+ % of outs that are K's in 4 pitches or less 9 % 11 % C
123 innings % of complete innings pitched 39 % 31 % A-
Swing and miss % of strikes 11 % 14 % C-
Efficiency D+ % of PA's that go to 3 ball counts * 22 % 19 % F
1st batter of inning out % 65 % 68 % C
3 or less pitch PA's 45 % 47 % C
4 or less pitch PA's 62 % 65 % C
Battle Tendency B+ % of runners who score * 25 % 36 % A+
% of 2-0, 2-1, & 3 ball counts ending in outs 52 % 54 % C+

Overall Grade C+

B-Mets:

Jonathon Niese tossed a complete-game shutout and the Binghamton Mets scored eight two-out runs in the third for an 11-0 win over the Erie SeaWolves in the first game of a doubleheader at Jerry Uht Park Thursday. Erie won the second game 1-0.

In the opener, the B-Mets (55-50) took a 3-0 lead in the second. Lauren Gagnier began the frame by walking Ambiorix Concepcion before Caleb Stewart doubled and Salomon Manriquez singled, the latter scoring Concepcion. Two batters later, Jonathan Malo doubled in Stewart and Manriquez.

After Gagnier (1-2) retired the first two batters in the third, Stewart started Binghamton’s rally with a double and scored on Manriquez’s base hit. Emmanuel Garcia doubled before he and Manriquez came in on Malo’s two-run single. Fernando Martinez reached on a infield hit and Jose Coronado walked, loading the bases for Daniel Murphy, whose single to right brought in Malo and Martinez. Mike Carp capped off the inning’s scoring with a three-run homer to right. All told, nine consecutive B-Mets reached with two outs.

That was more than enough run support for Niese (6-7). The southpaw limited Erie (44-62) to six hits and a walk, striking out eight.

In the second contest, B-Mets righthander Eric Brown didn’t allow a hit until the sixth and faced the minimum through the first six frames. However, he was matched by Erie’s Danny Christensen and his 6 1/3 scoreless innings. SeaWolves reliever Casey Fien (2-3) got the final two outs in the seventh.

Brown (5-7) departed after allowing back-to-back, one-out singles to Casper Wells and Deik Scram. Tim Lavigne then walked Ryan Roberson, loading the bases for Jeff Frazier, who walked on four pitches, forcing in Wells with the winning run.

Lucy:

Roster move - P Michael Antonini sent to Binghamton

-Wow... that’s quite impressive, since Mike started the season 2 levels down in Savannah… so far this season, with combined records from the Gnats and Lucy, he’s 8-4 with a 2.38 ERA… yet everyone keeps telling me he’s not a prospect

Clones:

Friday night will be one of the most exciting games of the season, and for a limited time, you can get one Standing Room Only ticket for FREE when you buy one at the regular price ($8). This special offer is good through midnight on Thursday, and can be accessed online by entering the code "STANDINGROOM" when you click here. You will be charged $4 per ticket.

Minor League Bios:

John Holdzkom P R R 6-8 230 10/19/87 Salt Lake City C.C.

Holdzkon played high school ball at Rancho Cucamonga, California. He was first drafted in 2005, in the 15th round, by the Seattle Mariners; however, he chose to pass and attend Salt Lake Community College. He was eligible to be a ‘draft and follow’, but Seattle passed, leaving the door open for the Mets. His brother, Lincoln, was a 7th round draft pick in 2001 by the Florida Marlins.
Holdzkom was picked in the 4th round by the Mets in the 2006 draft and was almost immediately assigned to the GCL Mets, where he pitched in 16 games (2 started), posting a 2-5 record, a 7.71 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP. His fastball is in the 93-94 range and tops off at 98.

In February 2007, Scout.com ranked Holdzkom as the 24th top Mets prospect. He pitched in 2007 for both the GCL Mets (0-1, 6.00, in 4 appearances) and Kingsport (1-0, 3.60 in 3 appearances).

Ex-Mets:

The Houston Astros released RHP Jorge Sosa.

And lastly:

Preston Gomez, 85, the Angels' special assistant to the general manager, moved back into his Chino home this month for the first time since suffering a fractured skull in March, when he was hit by a car. Gomez is continuing his rehabilitation at home. -- LA Times