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Rightfield

Frayed Knot Feb 20 2006 11:34 AM

The Nady-v-Diaz battle should be interesting to watch over the next month. Adam Rubin in the Daily News notes that Willie prefers someone win the job outright rather than going with a platoon, and gives a list of reasons why it's [url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/story/392941p-333224c.html]Nady who could hold the edge going in[/url] Over at Newsday, Dave Lennon makes the case that the popular Diaz and his semi-incumbency makes him [url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmets0220,0,2559517.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines]the players' choice[/url]

smg58 Feb 20 2006 11:54 AM

Nady's not a good defensive outfielder, either. And the fact that Diaz has options should be irrelevant if he's the better player. On paper, they're close to even. I'd put their median expectations at roughly the same spot (Diaz maybe an OPS of .800, Nady .780), but Diaz has a larger margin of error. Nady gives them a defensive sub at first, but that's really the biggest difference between the two. I guess I'd go with the guy who has the better spring, or perhaps base it on whether I think Diaz is moving forward or backward from his rookie year. Keep in mind that the Franco signing means that either the Mets go with 11 pitchers or one of these two doesn't make the team.

Elster88 Feb 20 2006 11:56 AM

They're both making the team.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 20 2006 12:08 PM

I think I'm on record as predicting Diaz gets traded for a starting pitcher. Hard to see a scenario where both guys make the team, so I suppose Diaz in AAA is also apossibility.

Elster88 Feb 20 2006 12:22 PM

They're both making the team.

seawolf17 Feb 20 2006 01:01 PM

I know that in Elsterland, some truths are undebatable, but there does exist a scenario in which they don't both make the team. It's not likely, but not impossible. If they go with 12 pitchers, which teams often do out of ST, then one of the three spare OFs probably has to go (Chavez, Diaz, Nady). Chavez is probably the most likely one out, but you never know.

Elster88 Feb 20 2006 01:08 PM

Never said it was undebatable. Just hoping to crack the prediction archives with a bold statement. I am also thinking that Chavez and his lifetime .658 OPS (.562 last year) should not be the fourth outfielder on the depth chart.

seawolf17 Feb 20 2006 01:12 PM

I agree. Chavez is a complete waste of a locker this spring.

Johnny Dickshot Feb 20 2006 03:21 PM

They need a reasonable facsimilie of a centerfielder, which Diaz and Nady are only with a wild stretch of the imagination. I think Chavez, or perhaps Redman, have a argument to be one of the 25.

Elster88 Feb 20 2006 04:01 PM

That's definitely a problem, no matter who makes the team. I guess Beltran just isn't going to get much rest. That Cammy/Nady trade is looking better every day. SC = 1 billion Way to go Omar!

Johnny Dickshot Feb 20 2006 04:26 PM

Which is why by adding Nady, he provided himself with an outfielder good enough to start in this league who's under 27 years old, it might not end up being such a bad thing after all. That is, if he can parlay the excess into a starting pitcher. Prolly easier after all is said and done to have flipped Cammy for a starter.

Frayed Knot Feb 20 2006 04:37 PM

Nady has played CF before and would probably be the guy to give Beltran a day off here and there if Chavez/Redman don't make the cut. He certainly wouldn't be the train wreck out there that Diaz would. I'm not sure they'd want to see Nady out there all that often so a longer Beltran outage would probably prompt a move of some kind.

seawolf17 Feb 20 2006 04:51 PM

Frayed Knot wrote: I'm not sure they'd want to see Nady out there all that often so a longer Beltran outage would probably prompt a move of some kind. Most likely involving some sort of group hara-kiri.

Nymr83 Feb 20 2006 06:27 PM

If Beltran were to hit the DL I'd have to think we'd see Lastings Milledge come up.

Edgy DC Feb 20 2006 07:14 PM

Depending on when in the season and how desperate the Mets are, I wouldn't expect that.

Nymr83 Feb 20 2006 07:21 PM

You expect them to play Endy Chavez every day? i don't think so.

Zvon Feb 20 2006 07:44 PM

smg58 wrote: .... perhaps base it on whether I think Diaz is moving forward or backward from his rookie year. In my mind this is a crucial factor. And if Diaz ever wants to be a regular player in the MLs, he better be taking those foward steps and taking them this Spring. Im goin for the underdog here. I want to see Diaz start playing to his potential on a consistant basis, and if he doesnt this year (as far as his career as a Met goes) he never will. Good kuck Victor. Break a leg. DOH! I mean show em what you can do and make RF yours.

Edgy DC Feb 20 2006 07:57 PM

]You expect them to play Endy Chavez every day? No, I don't.

Nymr83 Feb 20 2006 08:14 PM

So perhaps you expect the mets to leave Centerfield vacant and hope that nothing falls between Diaz and Floyd? "No I don't" isn't much of an answer, if you don't expect them to bring up Milledge and don't expect them to play Chavez what DO you expect them to do? or are you just disagreeing with me out of habit?

Edgy DC Feb 20 2006 08:26 PM

No, but as long as you're going to pick some silly one-alternative-only framing of the question, I figured no was a legitimate answer to a yes-no question. I expect that, in such an instance, depending on (1) where we are in the season, (2) how Milledge has performed in the minors during the season, and (3) how long the Mets expect Carlos Beltran to be out, that the team would experiment with Xavier Nady, Endy Chavez, Tike Redman, Chris Woodward, Angel Pagan, and the perennial Some Guy. If the stars align on 1, 2, and 3, Milldge will be in on the mix as well. The Mets have enough invested in Milledge that I expect they would like his debut to be as dictated as little by circumstance and as much by plan as possible.

metirish Mar 14 2006 10:06 AM

] Nady blasts away at Mets' RF job BY MARK HERRMANN STAFF CORRESPONDENT March 14, 2006 PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Xavier Nady's journey doesn't rival something out of a John Steinbeck novel, or anything dramatic like that. Mostly, that is because the journey really hasn't begun for Nady, the Mets' new rightfielder from Steinbeck country, Salinas, Calif. "It's also the Lettuce Capital of the World," Nady said last night after another showing that was impressive, bordering on awesome in the Mets' abbreviated 10-4 win over the Nationals at Tradition Field. The game was called after six innings by a power shortage that caused many of the stadium lights to go out. A power shortage was far from what happened when Nady was at the plate. He went 3-for-3, including a mammoth home run over a 40-foot-tall batter's eye in centerfield. "You don't get to experience that that often," he said, "that feeling on the bat." But he seems to be finding it more than most. Nady is batting .481 this spring, a figure that is going a long way toward improving his chances to beat Victor Diaz in the two-way race for the starting spot. That figure might be surprising to the people who found it puzzling that the Mets would deal Mike Cameron for essentially a utility player for the Padres. But it would not surprise anyone who knows the way Nady's dad would drive four hours round trip from the vicinity of Steinbeck House -- the museum a mile from the Nady household -- for good baseball competition when he was a youngster. It would not surprise anyone who recalls that, when he was a third baseman for the University of California, Nady was considered one of the best prospects in the country (drafted in the second round instead of the first, it was said at the time, because clubs were wary of dealing with agent Scott Boras). The way Nady looks at it, this is not the case of someone failing to fulfill his potential. It is a look at someone who, even though 27, still is on his way. "You always think back," he said. "You think about at-bats. I had 500 at-bats [one year] in A ball, a couple hundred in Triple A and the first thing I knew, I was in the big leagues. So a couple guys have told me, 'You haven't had many at-bats above the college level.' So you hope you keep experiencing it, getting closer to where you want to be. This may be the opportunity." You could say this chance has been generations in the making. The Nadys trace their roots to France in the 1500s and their baseball lineage to Xavier's grandfather, who coached baseball. The Met's dad, a lawyer in Salinas, pitched for the University of Colorado. He has been a pretty good big-leaguer, not an outstanding one or a full-time one. Nady believes he might be just hitting his stride now, a stride that might be quicker because of all the extra training from this winter. "I've always been pretty competitive and I'm going to play hard every day," he said. "But I think this whole offseason was getting ready for a big year, having the opportunity to play in such a wonderful city." The Mets would be happy if the stride is a home run trot. His blast last night left heads shaking. "Oh my God. Everybody knows he's strong," Tom Glavine said. "Still, when you see something like that, it's impressive." "I hit it good, I'm not going to lie," Nady said. "The wind helped, too." Notes & quotes: Reliever Juan Padilla will have season-ending Tommy John surgery on his elbow today ... Anderson Hernandez left for his home in the Dominican Republic to be with his family after the death of his grandmother ... Pitcher Alay Soler, the only Cuban on the Mets, took a lot of heat from the bevy of Dominican players when they all watched the Dominican Republic's World Baseball Classic win over Cuba.

sharpie Mar 14 2006 10:17 AM

Here's what confuses me about Nady: I had thought his name would be pronounced as Zavier but on the Met broadcast the other day they kept saying X-savier. Which is it? If he is the real deal and solidifies right field for the Mets, this might end up being the best deal we made this winter.

Edgy DC Mar 14 2006 10:21 AM

I think the broadcasters be wrong. I think his last name actually rhymes with "hot rum toddy," rather than "green-eyed lady."

Yancy Street Gang Mar 14 2006 10:26 AM

In my head, I've been calling him "X-savier Nade-y" which would rhyme with Lady. If he's really Zavier Noddy I have some adjusting to do. (I'm now also wondering if Valadius is going to call Mr. Nady "Professor X".)

Bret Sabermetric Mar 14 2006 10:27 AM

Wait a couple of months and it will be pronounced "ex-saviour."

Frayed Knot Mar 14 2006 10:30 AM

Nady (rhymes with Lady) says it's pronounced X-avier. Howie (I think it was) mentioned that a few weeks back.

Edgy DC Mar 14 2006 10:32 AM

I'll trust Howie over the guy down the hall. It's more fun rhyming with lady anyhow.

Bret Sabermetric Mar 14 2006 10:33 AM

Great. He can't pronounce his own name, and he can't play right field. Perfect.

Frayed Knot Mar 14 2006 10:34 AM

If you were Chris Carpenter pitching to Xavier Nady, would you throw him a curve in the dirt or would you groove one baby?

metirish Mar 14 2006 10:38 AM

How is the College name pronounced?, would it be the same name?

Yancy Street Gang Mar 14 2006 10:41 AM

I hope I get Nady in a future song parody round. That rhymes with Lady thing can be very useful. Right now I'm thinking Tom Jones: He was dealt for Cameron Who collided with Beltran And then got queasy. Was he the best that we could get? He has to prove himself to Bret And that's not easy. He's our Nady. Whoa whoa whoa he's our Nady Talking about Xavier Nady

Edgy DC Mar 14 2006 10:56 AM

Hey Nady out in right, I'm calling out to ya' More powerful than Jeromy when he was a Brewa'

MFS62 Mar 14 2006 12:08 PM

For you old,er, mature, fans. Syncopated Nady Hits the ball real hard Syncopated Nady You have me all a quiver Syncopated Nady We got you on our team Now syncopated Nady Go out, deliver Later

Vic Sage Mar 14 2006 01:27 PM

That's one... two... three strikes to Nady

cleonjones11 Mar 14 2006 11:22 PM

] If the stars align on 1, 2, and 3, Milldge will be in on the mix as well. The Mets have enough invested in Milledge that I expect they would like his debut to be as dictated as little by circumstance and as much by plan as possible I totally agree...Nady... Xavier or otherwise was a coveted 2001 number that San Diego never really gave a chance. He missed one year with injury and turned from prospect to suspect. I believe he is more polished than Diaz and is worth a full time shot to break out. I admit that 26 is usually the breakout age but...Hey, ..Victor is fun..but...he's a ONLY dead fast meatball hitter . Anyway. We shall see. Milledge is the future. Just keep him away from the girls....

Bret Sabermetric Mar 14 2006 11:26 PM

cleonjones11 wrote: ]I admit that 26 is usually the breakout age I saw a couple of zits on his forehead