Monday Applesauce

by Eric Simon on Nov 3, 2008 10:15 AM EST in Applesauce

In Hawaii:

Jordan Abruzzo went 1-for-3 with two walks as the Honolulu Sharks lost 3-1 to the North Shore Honu.
Greg Veloz went 0-for-3 with a caught stealing and another throwing error, and watching his average dip below .200.

In the Dominican Republic:

Francisco Pena went 0-for-5, but threw out two of three would-be base-stealers.
Luis Terrero stole a base and scored as a pinch-runner.
Victor Mendez went 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
Julio Polanco pitched two-thirds of a perfect inning.
Ambiorix Concepcion went 1-for-1 with an RBI and a run scored.
Argenis Reyes went 0-for-3.
Abraham Nunez went 0-for-3.
Fernando Martinez went 0-for-4.
Salvador Paniagua went 2-for-4 with a solo homerun and three RBI. He was also 1-for-1 in throwing out runners.
Fernando Tatis went 0-for-4.
Eude Brito walked two in a third of an inning, rightfully earning a hold.

In Mexico:

Tim Lavigne struck out two in an inning of relief.
Carlos Muniz allowed three hits and an unearned run in an inning of relief.

In Venezuela:

Salomon Manriquez went 1-for-1 with a double and an RBI.
Gustavo Molina went 0-for-3 and allowed three stolen bases in three attempts.
Edgar Alfonzo allowed just one hit -- a solo homerun -- in three innings of work.

Per Nick Cafardo's blog at the Boston Glove (via MetsBlog.com), the Mets may still be interested in Raul Ibanez, especially now that he is a free agent. Ibanez is a Type A free agent, and if the Mets sign him and forfeit a high draft pick in the process, I might just give up. Ibanez is a decent hitter and an awful, awful fielder. Given a full season of playing time, I'm not so sure he would even outperform Fernando Tatis, whom the Mets already have.

MetsGeek, Mike Newman drops his Top 15 Mets prospect list. Nowhere to be found? Josh Thole. Why? There is no god, evidently.

At Beyond the Boxscore, R.J. Anderson posts the first half of his interview with Royals assistant GM (and former Brewers GM) Dean Taylor. This is a great primer on what goes on behind the scenes at the GM meetings, as well as on draft day and other goodies.

Ever wonder what happens to the championship shirts and hats that were produced for the eventual losing team in a big championship game/series? Well, now we know, as two Jersey boys took a trip to Nicaragua to hunt down Super Bowl XLII Champion Patriots gear. The article is from August, but I just read it recently via the SABR listserv.

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Championship Gear

I have a fake Massachusetts license plate that says “PATS 19-0” that I picked up on Ebay a few hours after the Super Bowl. I should hang that up.

by JoshNY on Nov 3, 2008 10:54 AM EST reply actions

I seem to recall

reading a piece about losing championship gear that made references to “the parts of the world where the Patriots went 19-0, the Buffalo Bills are one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history and the Boston Red Sox are still waiting for their first World Series since 1918.”

'Catsmeat!' he cried. 'I see it all. It was that chump, Catsmeat.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Nov 3, 2008 10:59 AM EST up reply actions

In those parts of the world...

didn’t the Red Sox win the World Series in 1986?

by JoshNY on Nov 3, 2008 11:07 AM EST up reply actions

Shoot

Pardon my memory fart. Not only do I not live in one of those parts of the world, but I read that piece a while ago. Also, it is monday (which appears to be a valid excuse for lots of things).

'Catsmeat!' he cried. 'I see it all. It was that chump, Catsmeat.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Nov 3, 2008 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

Raul Ibanez is Type A?!?

I’m with you, Eric. Sacrificing draft picks for that guy just strikes me as a horrendous idea.

'Catsmeat!' he cried. 'I see it all. It was that chump, Catsmeat.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Nov 3, 2008 10:55 AM EST reply actions

If we sign

More than one type A would we still be technically giving up a draft pick for him? I mean I want no part of Ibanez because of his age and defense and the fact that we could get the same production from some sort of super platoon of Tatis/Murphy/Evans, but if we sign like Lower & Fuentes and Ibanez and let Ollie walk would we be giving up anything for Ibanez in terms of draft picks?

by Gina on Nov 3, 2008 10:57 AM EST up reply actions

Yes

I mentioned this in yesterday’s thread. The Mets cough up successive draft picks as they sign more typed free agents. The highest-ranked player nets a first-rounder for his old team; the second highest-ranked player nets a second-round pick, etc.

by Eric Simon on Nov 3, 2008 11:21 AM EST up reply actions

Great comment

over on the top 15 prospects list:

"Just to demonstrate the impatience with Fernando! that is plaguing much of the fanbase:

Miguel Cabrera, age 19, A+: .274/.333/.421/.754
David Wright, age 19, A: .266/.367/.401/.768
Fernando Martinez, age 19, AA: .287/.340/.432/.772"

Obviously, this doesn’t mean he’s definitely gonna be better than either of those two, but it’s still a very good sign that people are expecting a little too much from him at a very young age. BTW, I can’t believe he’s still only 19, I feel like he’s been a top prospect for forever at this point. Right now, my only concern with him is durability: if he can stay healthy, he’s gonna start hitting.

by cjmulrain on Nov 3, 2008 12:46 PM EST reply actions

also

I don’t mind the idea of Holt as a future closer. If he can develop one of his breaking pitches a bit and dominates again in the minors (as a starter), I wouldn’t mind seeing him fast-tracked to the big leagues. If our bullpen sucks next year as much as it did this year (good god please don’t let that happen!), he could be a decent September call-up for the pen.

by cjmulrain on Nov 3, 2008 12:48 PM EST up reply actions

The comment is fair, however,

It is important to note, even without considering park effects, that OPSs are not created equal. Of the three F Mart’s OPS is most heavly carried by BA as opposed to walks or power. This is shown through the counting stats.

D Wright that season 76 BB to 114 K, 30 dbls, 11 HRs 496 AB
M Cabrera 38 BB to 76 K, 43 dbls, 9 HRs 489 AB
F Mart 27 BB to 73 K, 19 dbls, 8 HRs 352 AB

Evening out the ABs at 500:
DW – 77 BB to 115 K, 30 dbls, 11 HRs
MC – 39 BB to 78 K, 44 dbls, 9 HRs
FM – 38 BB to 104K , 27 dbls, 11 HRs

I’m in now way picking on F!, but the comparisons kind of ignoring the fact that BA can be fluky, and the two other players he chose had better core skills displayed than F! in their respective season. Still, Cabrera showed a huge jump in plate discipline the year after his age 19 season, so again, I’m not poo-poo-ing [sic?] F!’s season but just stating the comparison is a bit skewed.

by Sokojoe on Nov 3, 2008 1:43 PM EST up reply actions

A mild rebuttal

Cabrera and Martinez are actually very close in “core skills”. If you prorate them to the same number of at-bats, their walk rates are actually almost identical (Martinez’s strikeouts are a bit higher after proration).

Wright, on the other hand, was way ahead in terms of discipline at the same age.

by Eric Simon on Nov 3, 2008 2:02 PM EST up reply actions

good points

although it should be mentioned that Martinez had ~150 less at-bats than the other 2 b/c he was injured (was it a wrist injury or a leg injury? I can’t remember), and that may have also had some effect on his power numbers, which still ended up very similar to what a healthy Wright put up over the full season. His patience is obviously less than the other 2, though he struck out a bit less than Wright and walked about the same amount as Cabrera. And of course, he was in a higher level than either of the other 2, so one would expect his numbers to be worse than theirs.

I don’t expect him to be as good as either Wright or Cabrera, but based on what he’s done in the minors at such young ages, I think he can be a very, very good major league player…remember, we’re comparing him to two of the best hitters in the entire league here, so even if he doesn’t do as well as them he can still be a fantastic player.

by cjmulrain on Nov 3, 2008 2:04 PM EST up reply actions

Agreed

I’m a huge Martinez fan and was quite happy with the season he had this year sans injury. I just wanted to point out the problem of just looking at OPS when comparing players.

Eric – If you prorate them, while MC and FM have the same number of walks, FM strikes out 33% more than MC while hitting 63% less doubles, but two more HRs. All the latter is obviously at a higher level though so I’m not really sure what to think when comparing. Really I wish I had my old BP books at work because now I’m curious how their EqAs would compare.

cjmulrain – The point about the injury possibly holding back his power is a good one that I failed to consider.

by Sokojoe on Nov 3, 2008 2:16 PM EST up reply actions