Master Index of Archived Threads


Adopted: Joseph Smith

Edgy MD Aug 06 2006 08:33 PM

And what a distinctive name! I haven't adopted anyone from this year's draft yet, and I find that I'm a sucker for relief pitchers putting up low ERAs in small workloads: Joseph Serfass and Wayne Ough having already slept in my loft space. I guess I'll never learn, because I'm adopting Joe after he just got sent to Binghamton, after releasing his debut album, Too Sick For Brooklyn: Team W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO Brooklyn 0 1 0.45 17 0 0 0 9 20.0 10 3 1 0 3 28 Binghamton 0 0 0.00 2 0 0 0 0 3.0 1 0 0 0 2 1

Edgy MD Aug 06 2006 10:01 PM

In three seasons at Wright State University, Joe had 22 saves while fanning 145 hitters and walking just 39. According to one scouting report, Joe's a rare case of a guy who got more velocity sidearming than coming over the top: The Mets second pick was Joseph Smith of Wright St. University in Ohio. He is a 22 year old, 6'2", 205 lb relief pitcher with a sidearm delivery. He increased his velocity by dropping down his motion, improving his speed to the low 90s. He has a good slider and a good change up as well. The junior righthander from Cincinnati, Ohio posted 13 saves for the Raiders and was instrumental in the WSU’s run for the Horizon League Championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament. He had a 3-1 record, 13 saves, with an ERA of 0.98 in 31 appearances, striking out 63 and giving up just five extra base hits, 9 runs, and 34 hits in 55 innings. Smith, a graduate of Amelia High School, was recently named WSU’s Male Athlete of the Year as well as team MVP. He is the highest drafted Wright State player since pitcher Brian Anderson was taken third overall in the 1993 draft.

Johnny Dickshot Aug 07 2006 10:46 AM

I read yesterday where it was a possibility he'd get a September callup. I was surprised M62 didn't gather him in first. Just kidding. And it's "Bazooka" Joe. It's just gotta be.

Benjamin Grimm Aug 07 2006 11:29 AM

He attended a game at Shea earlier this year, and Chris Cotter interviewed him on SNY for a minute or two. Seemed like a nice kid.

Edgy MD Aug 07 2006 11:41 AM

Johnny Dickshot wrote: And it's "Bazooka" Joe. It's just gotta be. Why not? It beats the Stormin' Mormon. I'll write to him and run the nickname by him.

Edgy MD Aug 29 2006 07:14 AM

Say it ain't so, Joe! Team League W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO AVG BRO NYP 0 1 0.45 17 0 0 0 9 20.0 10 3 1 0 3 28 2.56 .141 BIN EAS 0 2 5.68 10 0 0 0 0 12.2 12 8 8 1 11 12 2.13 .267 Minors 0 3 2.48 27 0 0 0 9 32.2 22 11 9 1 14 40 2.35 .190 Bingo got their pants handed to them last night. They got beat up like Rock Hudson at the end of Giant.

MFS62 Aug 29 2006 07:26 AM

Edgy, don't dispair. I think most of those runs (5 or 6) were in one bad outing. Keep the faith. Later

Rockin' Doc Feb 27 2007 08:09 PM

Edgy, your boy is wowing them in Florida. Maybe he will eventually become a home grown version of Chad Bradford. Mets' Joe showing he's no average RHP Joe Smith's uncommon sidearm delivery and dangerous slider is turning heads in camp. BY DAVID LENNON dave.lennon@newsday.com February 27, 2007, 8:37 PM EST PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The only thing ordinary about Joe Smith is his name. Flip through the phone book here, and there are more than a dozen. But on the Mets, Smith is easily singled out from the rest of the pitching staff, even in spring training, when the clubhouse is crowded with minor-leaguers and non-roster invitees. The difference is the delivery. Smith switched to a sidearm release during his junior year at Wright State -- at the suggestion of pitching coach Greg Lovelady -- and that caused his career to take an abrupt turn, much like one of his twisting sliders. Smith said he allowed only five extra-base hits in his last two seasons, and a single home run. The Mets selected Smith in the third round of the 2006 first-year player draft, and after splitting last summer between Class A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton -- again, one homer in 32 2/3 innings -- he may be poised for a huge leap. Smith, 22, has stood out in the first two weeks of camp, and Tuesday, in the team's second intrasquad game, he froze Lastings Milledge with the nastiest pitch a Met has witnessed since Carlos Beltran took that infamous curveball from the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright. Milledge swung and missed at the first two pitches -- heavy sinkers -- and then was powerless to react when Smith fired a slider that appeared to start behind him before bending over the plate for strike three. It was the only moment of the afternoon that elicited a "Wow" from both fans and players alike. "It's tough because you see the ball in one zone and it winds up being in another zone," Milledge said. "It's real tough. That's why if you go 2-for-8 against those guys you're a hero." No one got a hit off Smith Tuesday, but it's not like he faced the iron of the Mets' lineup. Smith retired Ruben Gotay and Mike Nickeas on ground balls to short to end the abbreviated 2 1/3-inning game, but a better test awaited him in the on-deck circle. That's where Jose Reyes was screaming "Throw it away!" before Anderson Hernandez delivered the finishing flip to first. With the Mets opening their Grapefruit League schedule Wednesday against the Tigers at Tradition Field, now is when the auditions officially begin, and Smith is earning some serious consideration to fill the void left by Chad Bradford. The Mets wanted to re-sign Bradford, another side-arming righthander with a lethal slider, but he bolted when the Orioles offered him a three-year contract worth $10.5 million. The timing could not be better for Smith, who has a knack for seizing opportunity. Back at Wright State, when Lovelady was soliciting pitchers to adopt a sidearm delivery, it was Smith who volunteered. "I think they tried out everyone but one person," Smith said. "I just happened to be the guy. As soon as I threw one slider, he told me, 'You're staying that way.' " The Mets would like to replace Bradford with a pitcher of similar style. While he's not a Bradford clone -- his predecessor came close to scraping his knuckles on the ground -- Smith can "bring the funk," as manager Willie Randolph refers to it. "That's nasty stuff, man," Randolph said. "The ball looks like a fastball, but when it gets on that cutout of the home plate area, it just spins away from you. He's impressed a little bit, but it's early in camp. You like what he brings to the table because of his unorthodox way of throwing the ball, and he obviously has some arm strength. He's one of those guys you pay attention to." Whiffing Milledge was impressive, but Smith is at his best in getting hitters to pound his hard sinker into the ground. If he can do that consistently, it will be difficult for the Mets to keep him away from Shea. "When you get ground balls, you get outs," Smith said. "Everybody likes ground balls because if you keep the ball down, all you're going to give up is singles. And if you give up a single and get a ground ball, it's a double play." As common a name as Smith is, he has the distinction of calling Lee Smith, "Mom." Not the closer with 478 saves, of course, but still an amusing coincidence. "My uncle got her a signed ball," Smith said. "Its says, 'To Lee Smith from Lee Smith.'" Now that's a unique delivery.

Edgy MD Mar 19 2007 06:18 PM

Joe will break camp a Met. You just know it.

Edgy MD Apr 01 2007 08:23 PM

After some slow goers (Joe Serfass, Edgar Alfonzo) and non-starters (Tyler Fucking Davidson), I finally have a big-leaguer in the brood. I picked this freak and he took off like a damn rocket. All credit goes to Joe. And his freakazoid arm angle. Welcome to the Show, Bazooka.

Edgy MD Jul 26 2007 04:39 PM

So, I've been vacating, and I get back home to find Joe's old car in the driveway, the door to his old room locked, and muffled sobs on the other side of the door. I figure, you know, it's the girls again, and I tell him to buck up, that there's lots of pretty girls in the "Big Apple," and that he's got to get back because the Mets will be looking for him, but he just sobs all the louder. I'm sure he'll get himself together. I wonder what could be wrong.

Edgy MD May 26 2010 11:30 AM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

Joe's been sucking it big time for the Indian Bureau this year, giving up six runs in seven big league innings, and currently residing in Columbus.

Edgy MD Jul 12 2010 11:54 AM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

After (mostly) getting his ass handed to him for the first month of the season, Joe Smith Smith spent May and most of June in Columbus. He is now unscored upon since June 28, stretching 5 2/3 innings. I can't make this picture make sense in my head.

Edgy MD Sep 06 2011 08:51 PM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

Wayward son Joe Smith is ripping the American League apart as a righthanded specialist --- compiling a 1.72 ERA over 61 games and 57 2/3 innings. He's given up one homer in that time, a gamewinner to Jacoby Ellsbury on August 3.

Edgy MD Apr 29 2013 02:58 PM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

Joe Smith pitching like a hunk. No runs in eight innings pitched over nine games. Four hits, nine K's, and no walks. Eckerslenian. Wasted on Cleveland. But we'll always have Jason Vargas, right?

Benjamin Grimm Apr 29 2013 03:01 PM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

Wow... a thread that's almost seven years old!

Edgy MD Jun 26 2015 09:55 PM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

Joe Smith, coming off perhaps his best season last year (sub-2 ERA, half the season closing) is a big part of the Angels again this season, with 32 appearances helping to set up Huston Street. Smith is married to a news anchor.

Edgy MD Aug 12 2017 11:39 PM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

Joe was traded to the Indians at the deadline, and is so far unscored upon in 3 2/3 innings. He and success just can't help it. They just find each other.

Benjamin Grimm Aug 13 2017 04:56 AM Re: Adopted: Joseph Smith

Wow... a thread that's over eleven years old!