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Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Edgy MD Apr 02 2013 07:26 AM

With the 51s debuting as a Mets affilliate on Thursday, the roster looks something like this. Coaches Wally Backman, manager George Greer, hitting coach Randy St. Claire, pitching coach Starting Pitchers 35 Gonzalez Germen 48 Greg Peavey 36 Collin McHugh* 32 Aaron Laffey 49 Zack Wheeler* Relief Pitchers 73 Robert Carson* 79 Armando Rodriguez 40 Dylan Owen 20 Chris Schwinden 2 Carlos Torres 45 Justin Hampson Catchers 25 Kai Gronauer 29 Travis d'Arnaud* 11 Landon Powell Infielders 26 Eric Campbell 4 Wilmer Flores* 3 Omar Quintanilla 12 Brandon Hicks 5 Reese Havens 19 Zach Lutz* 8 Josh Satin 7 Brian Bixler Outfielders 34 Jamie Hoffmann 18 Juan Lagares* 21 Andrew Brown Showing only three outfielders currently, they'll have liberal chances to use likes of Lutz and Flores out there. But there's probably going to be a move or three before opening day, with a surfeit of starters over relievers, infielders over outfielders, and a third catcher. Havens may yet return to Binghamton. * = 40-Man Roster dudes.

MFS62 Apr 02 2013 08:55 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

I think they're keeping a spot warm for denDekker on that outfield. He could be ready to play in about 6 weeks. (4 weeks cast comes off, two weeks of BP/ getting his strength back) Later

MFS62 Apr 02 2013 09:33 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Here are the other rosters from ESPN.com: BINGHAMTON METS (Double-A) Pitchers: John Church, Mark Cohoon, Erik Goeddel, Darin Gorski, Chase Huchingson, Adam Kolarek, Jack Leathersich, Cory Mazzoni, Rafael Montero, Tyler Pill, Adrian Rosario, Logan Verrett, Jeff Walters Catchers: Juan Centeno, Blake Forsythe, Francisco Pena Infielders: Allan Dykstra, Rhyne Hughes, Richard Lucas, Danny Muno, Josh Rodriguez, Wilfredo Tovar Outfielders: Darrell Ceciliani, Alonzo Harris, Cesar Puello, Cory Vaughn ST. LUCIE METS (Class A) Pitchers: Hamilton Bennett, Chasen Bradford, Marco Camarena, T.J. Chism, Angel Cuan, Jacob deGrom, Randy Fontanez, Jim Fuller, Michael Fulmer (DL), Luis Mateo, Estarlin Morel, Alex Panteliodis, Hansel Robles, Noah Syndergaard, Domingo Tapia, Taylor Whitenton Catchers: Xorge Carrillo, Albert Cordero, Cam Maron Infielders: Joe Bonfe (DL), Brian Harrison, Matt Reynolds, T.J. Rivera, Aderlin Rodriguez, Rylan Sandoval, Robbie Shields Outfielders: Dustin Lawley, Travis Taijeron, Charlie Thurber, Gilbert Gomez SAVANNAH SAND GNATS (Class A) Pitchers: Matt Bowman, Hunter Carnevale, Luis Cessa, Julian Hilario, Matt Koch, Jake Kuebler, Rainy Lara, Steven Matz, Bret Mitchell, Tim Peterson, Paul Sewald, Logan Taylor, Gabriel Ynoa Catchers: Jeff Glenn, Kevin Plawecki, Nelfi Zapata Infielders: Jayce Boyd, Yucarybert De La Cruz, Phillip Evans, Cole Frenzel, Jeff Reynolds, Chad Zurcher Outfielders: Brandon Nimmo, Eudy Pina, Gregory Pron, Stefan Sabol Later

Edgy MD Apr 04 2013 08:53 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Wheeler opens the schedule tonight at Sacramento which, we might as well get used to since the Mets are now being supported by a western-based affiliate, should be getting underway about 10 PM.

The Second Spitter Apr 16 2013 08:09 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Did the 51's previously play in Royal Blue caps or is this the result of Metsization?

Benjamin Grimm Apr 16 2013 08:18 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

That's a silly-looking cap. Didn't they used to be the Las Vegas Stars? I like that name a lot better.

Edgy MD Apr 16 2013 08:27 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

More importantly, as the Mets are in Denver sitting out the snow, the clubs' respective affilliates squared off and Colorado Springs brought a 19-5 beating upon the high rollers from Vegas. Special tip of the hat for Armando Rodriguez for distancing himself from the sorry show by his fellow pitchers. Chris Schwinden: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR Armando Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR Justin Hampson: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR Adam Kolarek: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR Eric Campbell: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR

MFS62 Apr 16 2013 08:32 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

A interesting number for Travis so far: 2012: 19 BBs in 303 PAs 2013: 12 BBs in 43 PAs Don't know whether they're pitching around him or his batting eye has improved. But he hit his first dinger of the season last night. He also committed one of six team errors. Later

The Second Spitter Apr 16 2013 08:57 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Somebody sneak a hidden cam & mic into the 51's clubhouse.

MFS62 Apr 18 2013 11:48 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

The Second Spitter wrote: Somebody sneak a hidden cam & mic into the 51's clubhouse. I'd prefer that whatever happens in there remains alien to me. Later

Edgy MD Apr 30 2013 11:58 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Newly signed D.J. Mitchell walks off with a win in his first start as a 51. You may remember DJ from such movies as: Spring Training with Seattle, ... The 2012 Yankees, and ... The Clemson [crossout]Bulldogs[/crossout]Tigers! As DJ's #9 in college might be taken to indicate, he was a position player and late arrival to the mound, and therefore might yet have some growth ahead of him. He's 25, slender and brings a hard slinker, and so might end up in the Mets pen before the year is out. Anyjay, the Aliens walked off with a 9-5 win, with most of the enemy damage done against Greg Peavey out of the pen. The Big Spenders attack was led by Andrew Brown, Wilmer Flores, and Zach Lutz, who all had two hits including a double. Brown also threw a dude out at the plate from right (the speedy leadoff guy Evan Frey), which may be more instructive to us this day-after-the-night-before.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 30 2013 12:31 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Clemson Bulldogs?

Swan Swan H Apr 30 2013 12:33 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

And Collin Cowgill still collects big-league meal money.

Edgy MD Apr 30 2013 12:39 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Clemson Bulldogs? Yeah, I lost something in the translation there big time. Cats ain't dogs. #NCAAfail #itwouldmakeagoodmoviethough

Benjamin Grimm Apr 30 2013 06:10 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

The episode of Mets Insider that's running on SNY this week has a fluffy but infotaining look at the Las Vegas 51s. Featuring interviews with Travis d'Arnaud (his jersey has a lower case D on the back), Zack Wheeler, Landon Powell, and Wally Backman, plus a little bit of Robert Carson, Colin McHugh and a brief glimpse of Wilmer Flores.

Edgy MD Apr 30 2013 06:15 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

The Vegans beat the pants off of Reno today, 10-2. Wheeler started and did nicely, going 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run on five hits, walking one and striking out 8. It's practically May, babies.

Frayed Knot Apr 30 2013 06:36 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

The one walk part might be the best sign there.

MFS62 Apr 30 2013 09:50 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

He also got a base hit, and is hitting .333. Bring him up and play him in the outfield. Later

Edgy MD May 05 2013 06:38 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Wheeler throws six shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk, while striking out four, in Las Vegas' 6-2 win over Sacramento. I imagine it won't be too much longer 'til he appears for the Mets. Cowcheese with a three-run homer.

vtmet May 05 2013 07:04 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

with all the paranoia that the media was throwing at us about Wheeler struggling in the PCL, it's not all bad... His road numbers: 4 starts; 2 wins; 1 loss; 1.69 ERA; 21 innings pitched; 19 hits; 8 walks; 7 runs allowed; 4 Earned runs allowed; 0 Homeruns; 21 strikeouts; .235 Batting average allowed; 1.333 GO/AO ratio; It's his Home splits that aren't good (and is it a big surprise in Vegas?)...and 1 out of the 3 home outings wasn't too bad (8 K's; 0 BB's; 1 HR; 6 hits; 3 Earned runs; 3.00 GO/AO ratio; in 5.1 innings)... http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.js ... pid=554430

Ashie62 May 05 2013 07:29 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Give Wheeler a break, he is pitching in Area 51.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr May 05 2013 09:02 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

vtmet wrote: with all the paranoia that the media was throwing at us about Wheeler struggling in the PCL, it's not all bad... It's not paranoia if it's true. And it wasn't just the overall results that were concerning-- it was the fact that the walks were up AND the command in general (fastball AND breaking ball) was absent. Given that his explicit marching orders for the last two years have been "pound the zone/trust your stuff," it was more than a little disconcerting... and, apparently, indicative of mechanical issues. His execution during the last two starts, though, seems to allay those fears... or at least stanch the "paranoia" a little.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 06 2013 07:24 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Nieuwy training the AAA John Sterling: [youtube:2ocsmzqr]GK9-TCSOs28[/youtube:2ocsmzqr]

smg58 May 06 2013 08:19 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: vtmet wrote: with all the paranoia that the media was throwing at us about Wheeler struggling in the PCL, it's not all bad... It's not paranoia if it's true. And it wasn't just the overall results that were concerning-- it was the fact that the walks were up AND the command in general (fastball AND breaking ball) was absent. Given that his explicit marching orders for the last two years have been "pound the zone/trust your stuff," it was more than a little disconcerting... and, apparently, indicative of mechanical issues. His execution during the last two starts, though, seems to allay those fears... or at least stanch the "paranoia" a little. He would hardly be the first pitcher whose mechanics got all screwed up when he moved to a bone dry, high-altitude, very hitter-friendly environment. It's very easy to stop trusting your stuff when your breaking pitches break later and the ball carries farther when it's hit. I'd like to see how he does in a home game with the adjustments. On the other hand, I'm not sure it's in his best interests to pitch many games in Vegas, regardless of how well he's doing.

Benjamin Grimm May 06 2013 08:29 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Hopefully the Mets will do better at musical chairs next time and get out of Vegas after 2014. I kind of wonder why these less desirable Triple-A franchises are still around. Maybe the Pacific Coast League needs to contract a little bit. It would be nice if two franchises can move east and join the International League.

A Boy Named Seo May 06 2013 09:32 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Nieuwy training the AAA John Sterling: [youtube]GK9-TCSOs28[/youtube] I'm a new fan of 5-foot outfield walls.

Edgy MD May 06 2013 09:37 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Las Vegas, as we know, is a borderline MLB city. Some places are desirable for their own purposes, but not a great match for any particular team. Or maybe a great match for one team --- Las Vegas and Los Angeles, maybe --- that is elsewhere committed. As far as Nieuwie's catch, great job. I wonder sometimes if the five-foot fence, while easier to leap over, sets up the ball player for more injuries as the impact of the player against the wall isn't spread throughout the body like it would be on an 8-10-foot wall, but focused primarily on the edge of the top of the wall against a single spot on the player's torso. Not every day you see a rightfielder positioned to make a leap on a ball getting called off by the centerfielder on a ball heading over the fence.

vtmet May 06 2013 07:46 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Edgy MD wrote: As far as Nieuwie's catch, great job. I wonder sometimes if the five-foot fence, while easier to leap over, sets up the ball player for more injuries as the impact of the player against the wall isn't spread throughout the body like it would be on an 8-10-foot wall, but focused primarily on the edge of the top of the wall against a single spot on the player's torso. good point...I've injured my shoulder, my knee, my ribs and my ankle doing various things over the years, and watching that catch against that fence makes me wince in the same fashion as when I see someone get impaled by a metal fence pole in movies...an 8 foot padded wall would be a little better on spreading out the impact on the body...

Swan Swan H May 07 2013 07:20 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Edgy MD wrote: Not every day you see a rightfielder positioned to make a leap on a ball getting called off by the centerfielder on a ball heading over the fence. There was a catch I've seen replayed a lot over the years where Willie Mays did that sort of thing to Bobby Bonds up against the cyclone fence at Candlestick Park. I can't find a video, which mostly speaks to my lack of ability with the Google.

vtmet May 07 2013 08:34 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Swan Swan H wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Not every day you see a rightfielder positioned to make a leap on a ball getting called off by the centerfielder on a ball heading over the fence. There was a catch I've seen replayed a lot over the years where Willie Mays did that sort of thing to Bobby Bonds up against the cyclone fence at Candlestick Park. I can't find a video, which mostly speaks to my lack of ability with the Google. MLB also tries their best to have MLB footage removed from youtube whenever they find it...generally if it's amateur fan filmed stuff, they leave alone...but if it's something from a MLB team's broadcast, they tend to try to get it removed...

Edgy MD May 08 2013 10:36 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Vegas gets seven shutout innings from Collin McHugh, inspired, I imagine, by his Flushing counterpart. The team entered the eighth with a 1-0 lead, before the bullpen faltered, but the Vegasatarians held on for a 3-2 win after trading single runs with Round Rock in both the eighth and ninth.

Swan Swan H May 14 2013 01:30 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

The 51's are headed for the 'burbs, more or less. Looks an awful lot like where Steve Martin ended up in My Blue Heaven.

Ceetar May 14 2013 01:35 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Family friend of the wife lives in..what I guess is Summerlin judging by the map. It's a nice enough place I guess. easy forget you're near Vegas and not just in a random planned dessert community. It's quite and peaceful. They have a Trader Joe's. I've heard bad things about the stadium in Vegas so I guess this makes sense. out in teh desert fits better with the 51s theme anyway. Really should've been the 21s in Vegas with a mascot called Blackjack.

Edgy MD May 29 2013 09:33 PM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Here's a PCL linescore for you Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tacoma 5 2 3 2 5 7 25 26 1 Colorado Springs 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 2 Sky Sox continuing to score as I format this post. Just made the last out in the top of the sixth.

MFS62 May 30 2013 07:44 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Edgy MD wrote: Here's a PCL linescore for you Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tacoma 5 2 3 2 5 7 25 26 1 Colorado Springs 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 2 Sky Sox continuing to score as I format this post. Just made the last out in the top of the sixth. This IS te PCL, where no lead is safe. The comeback fell a bit short. Final score 25-6. Later

Frayed Knot May 30 2013 07:48 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

A unusual number of safeties tallied in that game.

Edgy MD May 30 2013 08:19 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

In more provincial news, the 51s decisively beat up on their cross-state rivals in Reno, 7-1, with Brandon Hicks doing yeoman's work as a relief shortstop, going 2-3 with a triple after Quintanilla got pulled from the game in preparation for an apparent promotion. First-base prospect Josh Satin piled up four more hits, but all were singles and no runs resulted directly, but four hits be four hits. Carlos Torres continued the system-wide run of hot pitching, going 6 2/3 and yielding only three hits and a single run, walking one and striking out seven.

Edgy MD Aug 22 2013 09:04 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Vegas beat Fresno, 8-7 last night, after being down 7-0. Not bad, Backmans.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 03 2013 06:59 AM Re: Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

Sources: Wally Backman to remain with NY Mets organization BY Andy Martino Wally Backman’s future with the Mets grew into a topic of speculation, both inside and outside the organization, as it became clear last year that the front office intended to offer Terry Collins a contract extension. But for all that talk, nothing will change: The Mets offered Backman a chance to return next year as the manager of Triple-A Las Vegas, and he will do so, two sources told the Daily News. Backman, highly regarded by players, returned to the Mets in 2010 to manage the Brooklyn Cyclones, and was a finalist to succeed Jerry Manuel after that season. But Collins got the job, and remained in favor with ownership and the front office. In September, he agreed to a two-year contract extension, with a club option for 2016. That leaves Backman without an obvious managerial opportunity in New York, but he will continue at Las Vegas for at least one more season. In 2013, Backman’s team won its division, finishing 81-63.