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Bench

Edgy MD Jul 31 2013 08:55 PM

Gimme some bench. I want players. Players on the bench. Hitting players, not pitching players. I'll take Rick Ankiel. I'll take Jose Offerman. I'll take Craig Paquette and I'll take Jason Hardke and Shawn Gilbbert. Desi Relaford? Hellzapoppin YEAH, Desi Relaford. Look, they all good men, and defensible if not obvious plusses as individuals, but if this isn't the worst bench in team history, it's surely the least versatile, and that's saying something. [list]Andrew Brown: functional in left, somebody you'd rather not use in right, a non-option for center. Josh Satin: a poor secondbaseman they have to hide at first, where he hasn't exactly excelled. Justin Turner: a barely passable secondbaseman who's a default utility infielder, but is rather poor everyplace else. Anthony Recker: a passable catcher who doesn't play elsewhere to our knowledge, and appears to have been deliberately kept away from Matt Harvey.[/list:u] With that sort of non-flexibility, you'd expect every last one of those guys to be a threat with the bat, some of them dangerous against lefties and rightes. Very much so. But you'd be very much mistaken. Seems utterly fixable. Tejada's hitting, Valdespin is hitting, and Mike Baxter is hitting. Nieuwenhuis got the homer that started the Met resurgence and they haven't been the same since he got farmed out. A 13-man pitching staff just makes the bullpen a more crowded place to sit. Gimme some bench. Wilmer Flores? Hitting. Zach Lutz, Allan Dykstra? Hitting.

metirish Aug 01 2013 06:19 AM Re: Bench

Our bench is currently in the outfield...sorta anyway.....there was a lot of talk during the game last night about Baxter.....a good man off the bench when he's right, by his own words he hasn't been right.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 01 2013 06:45 AM Re: Bench

Quintanilla to me looks absolutely gassed out there. It was as if it required all his strength just to lift a single to shallow CF last night. I know he's giving it all it he has but that's not much at this point and it's plainly obvious we'd benefit from a fresher body out there. I dunno if the org feels Tejada has paid his dues yet but someone needs to get in there. Totally agree about the 13 pitchers. We could certainly stand to send down Germen or even Hef, whose pitched 3 times since the break and provided two blowouts and the surrender of a 3-run lead.

bmfc1 Aug 01 2013 07:19 AM Re: Bench

Anthony Recker: a passable catcher who doesn't play elsewhere to our knowledge How can you forget that his stellar efforts as a relief pitcher?

metsmarathon Aug 01 2013 07:31 AM Re: Bench

Anthony Recker: a passable catcher who doesn't play elsewhere to our knowledge... does not anthony recker play in your heart?

Edgy MD Aug 01 2013 07:32 AM Re: Bench

How can you forget that his stellar efforts as a relief pitcher? Noted. That's one more reason Gonzalez Germen is probably a luxury.

Vic Sage Aug 01 2013 08:52 AM Re: Bench Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Aug 01 2013 09:34 AM

i agree with the premise (not enough bench, not enough positional flexibility or LHed bats, too many relievers), if not necessarily with all the details. I agree that Quintanilla has faded after a good start. But to put things in perspective, as bad as he's hit lately, he still has an OPS over 100 pts higher than Tejada did before being sent down. And at least he doesn't play with his head up his ass, which is frankly not something children should be exposed to. That being said, we have absolutely no production at SS anywhere in our organization, so if Tejada has risen to his prior level of utter mediocrity, fine, bring him up and leave Omar on the bench for late-inning defensive subs when we are forced to (regularly) PH for Tejada late in games. I certainly don't want to see Turner in that position. When Duda comes back, send down Dipshit Davis and have either Satin or Brown back him up. Whoever isn't playing 1b will give us a decent bat off the bench, and Satin can back up at 2b and 3b, too. When D'Anaud is ready, bring him up and dump Recker. It's a ball club, not a singles bar. I don't need a wing man, i need a guy who can hit and catch. With Omar and Satin on the bench, we have no need for Turner, who is a good RHed PHer, but that's about it. He can play many positions, but all badly. What we need instead is 2 more OF bats, a LHer to spell Legares and Byrd and PH, and another to cover CF. I like Brown (a corner OFer with RHed power that can also back up 1b) and either Nieuhenhies, Baxter or (god forbid) Valdespin (LHed bats that can back up CF). I prefer Baxter, because of his demonstrable success as a PHer, and his all-out style of play, and Nieuenheis's propensity for missing the ball with his bat, and Valdy's propensity for being a complete asshole. Bench: C - Buck / D'anaud MI- Omar CI- Satin Rh OF - Brown * Lh OF - Baxter * [upon further consideration, with 2 RHed OFers and a SWH all starting, and with Satin and either Buck or D'anaud on the bench, we probably don't need another RHed OFer on the bench, so Brown could be swapped out for any of the other LHed OFers currently producing at AA-AAA (Nieuhy, Valdy, DenDekker] or they could leave Duda in the OF and give Dykstra a shot at 1b. Send down or cut: Atchison (for Baxter) Davis (when Duda comes up) Recker (when D'anaud comes up) Turner (when Tejada comes up) Mejia, German (when Niese comes back) This bench wouldn't be terrific, but it would be balanced and flexible, and give Terry better late-game options, and won't cost anything.

Edgy MD Aug 01 2013 09:06 AM Re: Bench

Balanced and flexible would be nice. We need Johnny Bench on the bench.

metsmarathon Aug 01 2013 11:17 AM Re: Bench

yabbut, do you think he can still hit?

Vic Sage Aug 01 2013 11:52 AM Re: Bench

that reminds me of the story (likely apocryphal) about Ty Cobb (I think, or some other legendary hitter), who was being interviewed near the end of his life, and was asked how he thought he'd hit against the current pitchers of that era, and he said "I'd probably hit .250." The reporter was shocked. ".250? Really? Is that all?" Cobb replied, "Well, I am 74."