Jan 08 2006 12:51 PM
A while back I adopted Carlos Muniz, a right handed closer out of Long Beach St., and he's bounced around the bottom rungs of the Met organizational ladder since he was drafted in the 13th round of the 2003 draft.
He started last year at Hagerstown and finished at St. Lucie. He's now got 3 full season under his belt and has put together some good cumulative numbers. He's 13-7 out of the pen with an ERA of 4.02. You don't really want your closer in the neighborhood of 4 when discussing ERA, but it's understood that one or two big innings can seriously bloat the ERA and it's hard to shave back down.
That said, the rest of his numbers look great.
112 IP in 93 appearances (all relief). In those 112 innings, he's allowed only 93 hits, walked just 44, and struck out 124 batters. That equates to an impressive 6.8 hits/9, 3.5 BB/9, almost 10 K/9 (9.96 to be exact), and a tidy 1.22 WHIP.
I said this last year and say it again this year. With his age (25 in March) and experience, I expect to see him start at Binghamton and hopefull see some action in Norfolk.
Lastly, he's a cool dude, and did a Q&A with me last April with the help of Jason Gordon, the gracious Manager of PR/Broadcasting for the Hagerstown Suns.
Before we had Frank Thomas or Steve Zabriskie, we had C-Los.
Here's that Q&A:
...
Crane Pool Forum
15-ish Questions with the 'Los
1) I read you were recovering from thumb and hand injuries sustained last year. How are both? Any lingering effects?
CM: I fully recovered from both injuries. I’m looking forward to a healthy season.
2) You saved 13 wins in your first year at Brooklyn. Did you get the feeling that the Mets were grooming you to be a closer specifically, or just an effective overall reliever who could handle any role? Do the Mets as an organization differentiate between the two?
CM: I feel the Mets are grooming me to be a late inning reliever (closer or set-up) Yes, the Mets differentiate between setup and closer.
3) Were you ever a starter?
CM: Yes.
4) As a player who's played for 3 different teams at different levels of the minors for one organization, have you gotten a feel for an overall philosophy the Mets may have for the development of their pitchers?
CM: Yes, the Mets have an excellent philosophy on the development of their pitchers. It’s more of a mental philosophy.
-For example, how important do pitch counts seem to be (may not necessarily apply to you as a reliever, but still...)?
CM: Pitch counts are important early in the season. Later, when pitchers arm is in shape, pitch counts are just a number.
-Have your off-day throwing programs been consistent from team to team?
CM: Yes. All teams have the same throwing program.
-Are there any philosophies that Pitching Coach Rick Peterson may have introduced at the Major League level that have filtered down through the minors?
CM: Rick’s mental aspects of preparation, and understanding the strike zone have filtered down.
5) Recently, a lot has been made of SABRmetrics (in-depth statistical analysis) being more commonly used by various organizations to help evaluate talent. Have you seen anything to lead you to believe that the Mets lean one way or another with regards to the importance of statistical analysis? Have any of the teams that you've played for employed a stat geek that you know of?
CM: The Mets pay close attention to stats. It’s very in depth! It’s unreal the information they have on the players.
6) What's your own personal time-table for getting to the show? Do the Mets have a time-table for you? Or do you get the impression they're more concerned with refining all aspects of your game now, and when you get there, you get there?
CM: I feel the Mets have a time-table for every player. I’m looking forward to excel as quickly as I possible so I can get to the show.
7) Who's been the most influential manager/coach you've worked with in the Met organization? Why?
CM: The most influencial coach I have worked for is Blaine Beatty (Capital City). He really helped me when I was coming off my injury.
8) Do you follow the progress of other pitchers in the organization with roles similar to yours?
CM: No.
9) When you played for Brooklyn (or any other time for that matter), did you check out a game at Shea? What'd you think?
CM: Yes, It was awesome. The organization took the Cyclones inside the clubhouse to meet the players and the front office staff. I’ll never forget that day.
10) I think every closer in the majors enters the game with an intimidating song blaring out from the stadium PA. What song would be blasting from the speakers when you enter a game to close it out?
CM: I really don’t have one. I’m still trying to find “that one songâ€
