Mack Attack: June 16, 2008

By John Mackin Ade
Posted Monday, June 16, 2008

The Mets are in discussions with the Rockies trying to pry LHP Brian Fuentes away for RHP Aaron Heilman.

Chris Aguila - Designated for assignment by the New York Mets.

“Keith Hernandez, now a popular analyst for Mets games on SNY, said the Cardinals undoubtedly suspected his drug use before trading him to the Mets for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. “They couldn’t have traded me if it got out,” Hernandez said recently as he reflected on the deal that brought him to the Mets on June 15, 1983. Hernandez rarely has discussed his past addiction, which he has said lasted about three years and ended before his arrival to the Mets. “It was a difficult time in my life. I was in and out of my first marriage,” Hernandez said. “I was fooling around with drugs, the coke, we all know that. I don’t want to say on a recreational basis—I hate that word. There were some nights when I was up all night. I didn’t sleep. It was very destructive. This is not a performance-enhancing drug; this is a performance-destructive drug. I just made up my mind I wanted to stop.” - BBTF

Draft News:

Baseball America on Ike Davis:

The son of former big league reliever Ron Davis, Ike was not a scouts' favorite coming into his junior season. A decorated high school career that included a star turn with Team USA's youth national squad and an MVP award at the 2004 Aflac Classic, and his pitching family pedigree, had most scouts regarding him as a pitcher out of high school. He decided to go to Arizona State rather than sign as a Rays 19th-round pick, and he started on the mound and batted cleanup in his first game as a Sun Devil. He struggled with wood in the Alaska League in 2006 and in the Cape in 2007, when he cut his summer short to have right wrist surgery. He returned to the mound as a closer in 2008 and played first base to keep his arm fresh. He also worked to incorporate his lower half more and was having a banner season, leading the Sun Devils in the triple crown categories as well as saves, before missing time with a ribcage injury. Davis has excellent raw power, comparing to former ASU star Jeff Larish, but he's a much better defender with a better swing and better pitch recognition. Davis is above-average at first base and should be able to play an outfield corner as well due to his plus arm; his below-average speed could limit him to left.

 

Zephyrs:

The Oklahoma Redhawks jumped on Zephyr starter Ruddy Logo scoring seven runs in the first two innings in a 7-3 Redhawk win. Joaquin Arias singled and stole a pair of bases in the first followed by a New
Orleans error to allow the Redhawk to score. John Mayberry drew a walk and
scored on a two run home run by Chris Davis. The Redhawks sent nine hitters to the plate in the second capped by a two run home run by Taylor Teagarden. Oklahoma led 7-1 after two innings. The Z’s offense pounded out 11 hits and scored three runs in the defeat. Lugo has lost each of his last four starts and has a 7.94 ERA in that stretch. New Orleans first baseman Michel Abreu had a pair of doubles and a RBI for the visiting Z’s. The series is even at two games each with the rubber game coming on Monday night in Oklahoma City.

B-Mets

The Binghamton Mets picked up a win in a suspended game 7-3 before falling in the regularly-scheduled game 5-1 against the New Britain Rock Cats at New Britain Stadium Sunday. The B-Mets took two of three in the series. Binghamton (37-31) began the day with the resumption of a game suspended in the second inning Saturday because of rain. Before the rains came, the B-Mets jumped all over New Britain starter Anthony Swarzak (3-3) for six runs in the first. Eric Reed began the frame by reaching on an error before Nick Evans singled and Mike Carp walked, loading the bases with no outs. Caleb Stewart followed with a two-run single to left, scoring Reed and Evans. After Ambiorix Concepcion singled to re-load the bases, Carp and Stewart scored on Salomon Manriquez’s base hit to right. Josh Petersen followed with a single to left-center that brought in Concepcion before Emmnauel Garcia’s double-play groundout allowed Manriquez to score the inning’s final run. The B-Mets made it 7-0 in the second when Nick Evans tripled and scored on Mike Carp’s base hit to right. Eude Brito (3-1) took the mound once Saturday’s game was resumed on Sunday and fired four scoreless innings of relief. New Britain (31-37) was kept off the board until the eighth, when Erik Lis tripled in a run and scored on a passed ball. Three batters later, Drew Butera doubled in the game’s final run. In the regularly-scheduled contest, New Britain leadoff man Dustin Martin began the first with a homer off Bobby Parnell. Jonathan Malo matched Martin with a solo homer of his own, off Rock Cats reliever Frank Mata (1-0) in the sixth, tying the score 1-1. Parnell (5-4) got the first two outs of the sixth before the Rock Cats erupted for six straight hits and four runs. Butera hit a go-ahead two-run double before Rodolfo Palacios and Martin added run-scoring hits of their own.

Lucy:

The West proved best in the Florida State League All-Star Game. Players for the Vero Beach Devil Rays and St. Lucie Mets contributed to the East's effort, but the West notched a 9-3 victory at Space Coast Stadium before 3,402 fans on Saturday night. The event, however, was more about relaxing and meeting new faces, said St. Lucie Mets pitcher Dylan Owen, who tossed a scoreless inning in the third. "You meet a lot of nice guys in baseball," Owen said. St. Lucie Mets pitcher Dillon Gee struck out two, but allowed a two-run homer to Sarasota Reds outfielder Drew Stubbs to give the West a 4-1 lead in the second inning. Mets catcher Josh Thole, who smacked a sixth-inning single, hopes the game might provide some second-half momentum. "It was a blast," Thole said. "The energy of this game, we can bring it back to our teammates and carry it into the second half."

Gnats:

Jesus Montero went 4-for-5 with a pair of runs batted in to lead Charleston’s 17-hit attack as the RiverDogs weathered the Savannah Sand Gnats, 8-2, in South Atlantic League action to finish the season’s first half Sunday afternoon during a light but steady rain in front of 2,358 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. After Savannah scored a run in the opening frame, Charleston took command and plated six unanswered runs between the first and sixth innings. RiverDogs starter Adam Olbrychowski (5-2) walked the first two batters he faced, but settled in and worked five solid innings to earn his fifth straight victorious decision. Savannah took the lead in the first on Jordan Abruzzo‘s sacrifice fly to right field that scored leadoff batter Greg Veloz. Abruzzo had won Saturday night’s affair with a tenth-inning two-run bomb. The RiverDogs tied the score in the bottom of the first with an unearned run against Savannah starter Nick Carr (1-1). Bradley Suttle, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, scored the run on a throwing error by Savannah third baseman Jake Eigsti. Charleston took a 2-1 lead in the third when Justin Snyder opened the inning with a single, moved to second on a wild pitch by Carr, and scored on Austin Romine’s RBI double down the third base line. The RiverDogs extended their lead to 4-1 in the fourth inning after loading the bases with one out. Austin Krum scored from third on Suttle’s fielder’s choice grounder, and Abraham Almote later scored on a throwing error by Francisco Pena, the Sand Gnats’ catcher. After four frames, the RiverDogs had already recorded 10 hits. Charleston pushed two more runs across in the sixth against reliever Nick Waechter, coming on back-to-back RBI singles by Montero and Romine to increase the lead to 6-1. Savannah decreased the deficit to 6-2 in the eighth after back-to-back singles by Casey Craig and Jose Jimenez. Craig scored from second after when Pena smacked a two-out RBI double to left. Carr went four full innings for the Sand Gnats and allowed four runs on 10 hits while walking one and striking out two. Waechter pitched the fifth and sixth innings and permitted two runs on three hits, while Brant Rustich finished with two runs allowed on four hits. Of Savannah’s eight hits, Jimenez, Francisco Pena and Richard Pena each had a pair.

Clones:

Revised complete roster for Brooklyn:

Pitchers: Eric Beaulac - Matias Carrillo - Montero Cruz - James Fuller
Junior Guerra - Brad Holt - Jimmy Johnson - Jeff Kaplan
Mike Lynn - Pedro P. Martinez - Roy Merritt - Brandon Moore
Manuel Olivares - Wendy Rosa - Yury Santana -
Chris Schwinden - Scott Shaw - Tim Stronach

Infielders: Eric Campbell - Nick Giarraputo - Reece Havens - Zach Lutz
Brandon Richey - Josh Satan - Jeffries Tatford

OFers: Brandon Kawal - Kirk Nieuwenhuis - John Servidio - Will Vogl

Catchers: Cesar Cordido - Ralph Henriquez

 

DSL Mets:

Team Leaders:

Samuel Tavares is tied for 1st in the league with lowest ERA (0.00 in 11.0 IP), and 8th in lowest WHIP (0.55)

 

VSL Mets

Team Leaders:

Adrian Pirela is ranked 13th in the league in OBP (.411)

Ray Van Gurp is ranked 2nd in the league in stolen bases (ranked behind someone named ‘Henry Henry’) with 13

Orlando Tovar is ranked 2nd in the league in ERA (0.93), 9th in WHIP (1.10) and 1st in Ks (39 in 29.0 IP)

Jhonathan Torrez is ranked 4th in the league in ERA (1.46), 2nd in WHIP (0.81)

Angel Cuan is ranked 2nd in the league in Ks (31 in 21.0 IP)

 

Minor League Bios:

Nicholas Carr P R R 6' 1" 195 04-19-1987

Carr was drafted #41 in the 2005 MLB draft by the Mets. He came straight out of Twin Falls High School, where he posted a 17-4 record over his junior and senior year. Carr decided not to sign, and instead attended the College of Southern Idaho, where he went 5-3, 2.18 ERA, last year.

The Mets signed him as a draft-and-follow on May 24, 2006. Terms of his deal were not disclosed. Currently Carr is all speed, with a fastball that tops out at 95. OnDeck updated their ratings for the Appalachian League at the end of the 2006 season and ranked Carr the 10th best starter in the league (181.34 rating) and the 14th top league prospect overall (1st on the team). His stats were… well… ok: 12 Games, 11 starts, 3-3, 4.88, 1.50. He did have 44Ks in 48 IP but gave up 23 BB as well.

From BA on 8-24-07:

The Brooklyn Cyclones feature more veteran minor leaguers than true prospects, but righthander Nick Carr is one to keep an eye on. The 20-year-old had 56 strikeouts in 42 innings, issuing 16 walks en route to a 3.25 ERA. The Mets drafted Carr in the 41st round of the 2005 draft, and signed him as a draft-and-follow after he played at the Junior College of Southern Idaho. Carr threw in the low 90s a year ago, but this season he his fastball has been clocked in the mid- to high-90s, thanks in part to improved conditioning. He threw 48 innings in the Rookie-level Appalachian League last year, posting a 4.88 ERA with 44 strikeouts and 23 walks.

In 2007, Carr played for the Cyclones, going 5-2, 3.80, 1.24 in 14 starts. In September 2007, baseball America ranked Carr as the 16th yop prospect in the NY-Penn league. In November 2007, he was named the 13th top Mets prospect by Scouts.com. In late January 2007, Baseball America listed Carr as the #14 Mets prospect in their system, adding: ‘looks like he is close to having 2 + pitches, fastball and slider.’ In late January 2007, Baseball America named Carp as the 19th overall Mets prospect (notice his ranking going down…)

Ex-Mets:

Jesus Flores reached base 3 times, hit a home run, and collected 3 RBI

This Day in Mets History:

1978 - Reds' Tom Seaver no-hits the Cardinals, 4-0. It is Tom Terrific's first no-hitter after coming close three times his 12-year career

2001 - John Olerud becomes the 21st player to hit for the cycle more than once his career. Among all of the players who have accomplished hitting a single, double, triple and home run in the same game, the Mariners' first baseman has the fewest career triples with just 12 in his 13-year major league stint.