|
"Almost entirely ignore Emaus and Turner" because what does John Harper know about minor leaguers? They're good to clamor for when major leaguers are playing poorly, that's about it. But the goal here is, and I can't stress this principle hard enough here at the John Harper School of Journalism, is to abuse the struggling major leaguer. You can get ten great columns about writing about how they hateful and sucky and mopey they are and then you call on your narrow minor league knowledge to promote the cause of some kid in Bushville. He doesn't have to actually be any good! He's a strawman! Are you getting this, people? This wil be on the test.
Here. Take this home. We'll be discussing it tomorrow.
MINOR-LEAGUER HERNANDEZ SHOULD BE HERE
BY JOHN HARPER
Wednesday, September 14th 2005, 7:00AM
Kaz Matsui is swinging a hot bat these days, but he can hit .500 this September and chances are he'll still be playing elsewhere next year. That's how convinced at least most of the Mets' front office is that Matsui should be traded this offseason, even if it means eating half of the $8 million he's owed for 2006.
It makes sense. During his two seasons in New York, Matsui has never lived up to his star status in Japan, and as a result, Mets fans boo him viciously at any opportunity. Most significantly, in his first year as a second baseman, he's so tentative around the bag that he turns the worst double play at Shea since the forgettable Gregg Jefferies experiment two decades ago.
OK, but if the Mets are committed to having a new second baseman next season, why isn't Anderson Hernandez here for at least a look after his dazzling year in the minors?
Hernandez is the 22-year-old infielder who turned out to be the steal of the year, after the Mets acquired him from the Tigers for backup catcher Vance Wilson last winter and then moved him from shortstop to second base.
Unlike Matsui, Hernandez made a smooth transition, and hit .315 between Double-A and Triple-A to open some eyes and make himself a candidate for the second base job next season.
So where is he? Norfolk was knocked out of the Triple-A playoffs on Sunday, yet Hernandez wasn't at Shea last night as the Mets lost 4-2 to the Nationals. Because Hernandez is not on the 40-man roster, Mets' brass apparently was debating the idea of releasing one of their players to open a spot for him.
"We haven't decided what we're going to do yet," assistant GM Jim Duquette said. "We're still talking about it."
What is there to talk about? Realistically the Mets are out of the wild-card race after their disastrous 2-8 road trip, so opening a roster spot shouldn't be a problem, unless veteran role players Gerald Williams or Jose Offerman are in the plans for next year.
Apparently there is also the issue of how much to play the kid if he's brought up. Willie Randolph, who spoke enthusiastically on Sunday about Hernandez, was emphatic yesterday in saying that his priority is still trying to win games.
"I'm not going to be auditioning guys these last few weeks," he said.
Likewise, Randolph was sensitive to any notion that he had been asking for Hernandez to be called up.
"It's not like I was campaigning for him to be here," he said. "We don't know how he's going to fit in here if he does come up. We've got a second baseman right now."
Randolph then made a point of saying that Matsui, who is hitting .400 over his last nine games after going 1-for-4 last night, deserves to play at the moment, and made a point of praising Matsui's play of late.
"He's swinging the bat good," Randolph said.
Perhaps, but it's been obvious all the way back to spring training that the manager, as an accomplished second baseman all those years with the Yankees, has serious reservations about Matsui playing that position.
And when Randolph was asked yesterday to evaluate Matsui's progress defensively, it seemed just as obvious that those reservations remain.
"He needs a lot of work on the double play," Randolph said. "He needs to refine it. I can't say that he can't do it, because he still needs experience there. He missed a lot of time because of the (leg) injury (that put Matsui on the disabled list for two months).
"I think he has the skills to do it, and if he works hard over the winter and next spring, he could be adequate enough to play the position. There are a lot of second basemen that don't turn the double play that well."
Then Randolph added perhaps his most telling comment:
"He might not even be here next year."
The words were seemingly meant to downplay any sense of urgency over Matsui's shortcomings, but they were indicative of the club's thinking. People with knowledge of the situation say that while a small segment of Mets talent-evaluators still believes Matsui could be a solid second baseman with a strong bat, most are convinced of the need to trade him.
Because of a no-trade clause, Matsui would need to approve a deal to all but a few teams, but Mets reps believe he would do so to escape the harsh treatment he gets here from the fans.
So then what? The Mets won't go into next year counting on Miguel Cairo as the starter. They'll revisit talks with the Rangers regarding Alfonso Soriano, and see who else is available.
At this point, they're not thinking of Anderson Hernandez as their starter. He hit a combined .258 in four previous minor-league seasons, so they're leery about getting too excited about his breakthrough season. But he's reportedly got a slick glove and enough speed that he stole 35 bases this season.
At the very least, the kid deserves a look. So where is he?
jharper@nydailynews.com |
|
