Our pitching thus far

So after 4 starts from our pitchers, three of them have been good. Santana threw a gem, Maine struggled, Niese threw good and Pelfrey threw great. This is great to see after such questions in the off season about the rotation.

Maine didn't look good out there, but we'll chalk it up to his first start and wait for the second to assess it. Really nothing else to say.

Niese had a great outing for his first start after surgery posting 3 ERs in 6 IP. People are saying he's going to be the most consistent pitcher behind Santana and I'd love to see him step up to that. Barajas speaks big of him and even compares his stuff to Cliff Lee (not as good as Lee's, but similar, etc.) The Marlin hitters apparently reacted to Niese's cutter positively after the game after being questioned about it.

Pelfrey threw great and his splitter just fell off the table to the Nationals. That pitch is fantastic and its great he has mastered it in a short amount of time. Though his control seemed off at times, he can definitely throw that for swings and misses.

Now the big moment is Oliver Perez. People were raving about Ollie in Spring Training, how he's throwing gas and being extremely effective but then he collapsed come game time. I'm curious about how this will play out if he's not effective...

If Santana, Pelfrey, and Niese are all effective and consistent, we can't just allow Maine and Perez to get rocked each outing. If 3/5 pitchers are working in a groove, those 2 other pitchers are going to get us loses and put us back in the division because if we keep the offense like what Franceour has been doing and what our bullpen has been doing, we're poised for a big year.

Spring Training update #1

The Mets as a team are now 6-2 outscoring their opponents 44-20. They seem to have great chemistry and work well together. They seem to be confident about this team and I don't know why we shouldn't either. Anything compared to last year will be progress. Sure, I'd love to win the NL East and make it deep into the playoffs. If we win the Wild Card and make it to the first round of the playoffs then I'd be content.

No one sees this team winning a World Series flat out this year. We're not the Red Sox, we're not the Yankees, and we're not the Phillies. I'd say, if everything goes right, we'd be a playoff team through the Wild Card. If we make these small steps forward in 2010, then 2011 could possibly be a success. By the way Spring Training is going, we have a very bright future ahead of us in Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Josh Thole, and Jon Niese (even though Mejia has stolen all the spotlight). Mejia is baffling batters and is perfect through 5.1 IP, F-Mart is hitting for power, Davis and Thole are red hot, and Niese (in my opinion) definitely penciled himself in for the 5th starter role after his last outing.

By the looks of everything, 2011 looks something like:

C Josh Thole

1B Ike Davis

2B Luis Castillo

SS Jose Reyes

3B David Wright

LF Jason Bay

CF Carlos Beltran

RF Fernando Martinez

1. Johan Santana

2. Mike Pelfrey

3. Jon Niese

4. Oliver Perez

5. Jenrry Mejia

As much as I love Jeff Francoeur, I see Mets management favoring Fernando Martinez over him for the RF job in 2011. What happens to Francoeur I do not know, but I wish we'd still have a spot for him.

Mejia is scheduled to pitch four innings in his next outing, clearly still being groomed as a starting pitcher (thank god).

The New Ollie Unveiling

Thanks to MetsBlog, today's lineup versus the Nationals is:

1. Gary Matthews Jr.

2. Luis Castillo

3. David Wright

4. Jason Bay

5. Daniel Murphy

6. Jeff Francoeur

7. Alex Cora

8. Omir Santos

9. Oliver Perez

I'm actually pretty excited to see Oliver Perez pitch. After all the hype given to us thus far from people who've seen him pitch, I'm curious and anxious to see it happen.

This is my first Spring Training game that I'm watching, so I hope I get to see a lot of people, such as Ike Davis, Josh Thole, Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, and others though I don't know how likely it is.

Scheduled to make pitching appearances is LHP Pat Misch and RHPs Hisanori Takahashi, Jack Egbert, Clint Everts, and Tobi Stoner.

Game time is at 1 PM on WPIX. Let's go Mets!

Mejia is a Stud

Jenrry Mejia bedazzled batters and wowed people who watched him pitch against the Marlins. He was absolutely electric. So, now that we see what he's capable of, what do we do with him next? Do we stick him in the pen? Do we make him our 8th inning guy? Do we send him back to the minors?

The answer is the last one. It would be so exciting to see Mejia in the bigs this year. It's such a tease to watch him pitch in these

Spring Training games and dominate the opposing batters, but he really needs to develop his secondary offerings and gain more experience. Even though he made fools of the batters that faced him, his command was off, which happens to be his flaw.

I'm all for the Mets giving Mejia MLB time, but do it slowly. I think he should be given a few spot starts during the year, then call him up in September. I think where he is now, with a good chunk of time in the minors this season, he'd be the favorite to win a rotation spot in 2011. His stuff is completely filthy and I'd love to see what he can do during a full major league game.

It's going to be interesting to see what's going to happen to Mejia after Spring Training. I really don't think he should break camp this spring, I can totally see him collapse when we try and have him convert from the reliever we made him this season to a starter we'd make him in 2011. It screams Joba Chamberlain all over it.

Even if this happens, he will gain a lot of positive media and notoriety as (by the looks of it) a shut-down set-up man. Is this a good thing?

2011 Looks Bright

Spring Training is upon us and some new faces have reassured us that our future at certain position voids might be filled as of 2011.

1B prospect Ike Davis continues to impress at Spring Training. He continues to turn heads and gain notoriety as the days go on. He'll likely start the year as the starting 1B in AAA with a September call up. Starting 2011, he'll more than likely become the starting first baseman. He's got raw power and being only 22 years old can only improve.

C prospect Josh Thole has also impressed people with his brief MLB debut last season. In 53 trips to the plate, he batted .321 with 9 RBIs. Though his only flaw is his below average defense behind the plate, he's only 23 years old and with a solid season as the starting catcher in AAA, he could be the starting catcher in 2011.

RHP Jenrry Mejia has been referred to as the next Felix Hernandez by some, and Mariano Rivera by others. He is a true stud and has been labeled as either being a dominant starter or a shut-down closer. To be honest, I'm all about grooming this kid to be a starting pitcher. Starting pitchers have always been difficult to come by for the New York Mets, and with this 20 year old kid destined to be our #1 ace of the future, its hard to turn that in for his talent to be wasted as a closer. His pitches have ridiculous movement and if he commands his pitches better and really works on the consistency of his delivery, he could very well be fighting for the #5 spot this time next year. In the meantime, I'm sure he'll get a call-up in September or maybe even a spot start earlier than that.

Possible 2011 lineup: (for humor purposes I left Castillo at second. Who knows who will be playing 2B at that point)

Reyes

Castillo

Wright

Beltran

Bay

Thole

Davis

Francoeur

That is a great lineup right there. If Thole and Davis continue to hit, which they will, we will have such depth as the Yankees or the Phillies with dangerous hitters in mostly all the slots.

Possible 2011 rotation:

Santana

Pelfrey

Niese

Perez

Mejia

Johan will be around 32 in 2011 and obviously won't be as sharp as he used to, though still the staff ace. Everyone below him needs to know that when he's eventually gone, someone needs to fill that void.

I think this season Pelfrey will find his groove and settle in as a good #2, though I don't know if he can fill the ace role when Santana is gone. With better defense behind him and more experience at the MLB level, I think this year will be a breakout year for Mike.

I think Niese will win the 5th rotation spot this spring and flourish. I think he'll establish himself with a positive rookie season and etching himself to fill the #3 spot in 2011. Will he fill Johan's void, probably not but he'll be a great #3.

I think Perez' history makes him unable to fill the ace role. Everyone says he looks fantastic this year in Spring Training, though who knows how long that can last.

And then there's Mejia. I think he's easily the favorite to win a rotation spot in 2011 being an organizational favorite. If he fine tunes his delivery and command with a full year in the minors, I think he'll be our #5 in 2011 then maybe our #2 in 2012 and possibly our #1 in 2013. Jenrry Mejia has the most upside out of anyone on this list and I expect him to deliver.

So, now that 2011 looks bright, I hope 2010 isn't a drag.

Eric Niesen K Reel

I found this video on youtube. It's a K Reel from Mets prospect Eric Niesen, who has been invited to Spring Training.

The Mets drafted Niesen in the 3rd round (99th overall) in the 2007 draft. As a reliever, his fastball touches the mid-90s. His slider is decent, and his changeup is below average. He is a small lefty and will be auditioning to become a left handed specialist in the bullpen or possibly even the left long man.

From this video, Niesen has some pretty nasty stuff. His fastball has some very nice tail action and his breaking ball looks wicked. Should he harness these, he'd be a nice addition to the bullpen.

We'll see how Niesen does in Spring Training. I'm not sure if he'll make the team, he didn't do so hot last season. He split time between A+ and AA, and the results were also split. He found his rhythm in A+ where he posted a 3.28 ERA giving up 57 hits, 21 earned runs, 49 strikeouts and only 5 homeruns in 57 innings of work. Now when he was bumped up to AA, he posted a 4.66 ERA giving up 75 hits, 43 earned runs, 6 homeruns, and 85 strikeouts in 83 innings. His strikeout rate grew when pushed into AA, but he didn't fair well against the batters. His combined A+ and AA ERA for 2009 was 4.09.

I think Niesen will start 2010 in A+ where he found his groove. I really don't see him making the team but who knows, maybe I'll be wrong.

Johan on Pelfrey's bright future

John Harper of the Daily News talks to Johan Santana who gives his feelings about the pitching staff behind him, Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez. It's a very optimistic view and gives some insight on how excited and confident he is for the 2010 season.

On Pelfrey, he says:

"He's got the stuff to be great. Man, if I had his stuff, oh, my God. That sinker that he throws at 95 [mph], it's unbelievable. It's a matter of consistency and being more mature, and I really believe he;s a more mature pitcher after feeling like he had to step in for me (late) last season."

I love this. Johan Santana, the ace of staff and two time Cy Young winner, is jealous of Mike Pelfrey's stuff. This says a lot for the kid and a lot about the mentality this team has. If Santana thinks Pelfrey "can be great," then I'm pretty sure he has a lot more insight on pitchers and what they'll develop into than any of us.

A lot of people are extremely rough on Pelfrey and I don't know why. Sure, I was frustrated with him last season but I think it should go unnoticed due to everything that happened. The team's core player and even back up player flat out collapsed. How could anyone succeed with such a blemish? With all the papers writing about it, news, etc. Hell, Sports Center even had their very own Not Top 10 just for the 2009 Mets. How could people tune that out and not let it get to their heads?

Santana also labels Perez as "hungry" and Maine "pain-free." The players seem very excited about this season, so why shouldn't we? It's so repetitive on twitter and these sites saying how this season is going to be such a waste and Omar sucks and I can't wait until 2011. You're hating on the team now but if we win or go deep you're going to praise them. Let's just start baseball and quit complaining. We have so many key players to win us a championship, so let's do it.