Please excuse my absence from posting for the last few days. I aspire to write everyday, but have found doing so to be nearly incompatible with a functional or even slightly defective social life. Thus, I’m happy if I write five or six nights a week. Failing that standard makes me feel as though I’m not living up to one of my original purposes in writing my Mets Minor League Report which was to cover the system in the type of near daily depth that I would want to read about it. So, bear with me…I’m working on getting back into baseball shape.
And I’m off to teach some friends to ski.
Stars of the Day:
AAA: Michel Abreu/Adam
Bostick
AA: Jon Niese/Mike
Carp
A+: Stephen
Clyne/Lucas Duda
A: Richard Pena
@ New Orleans Zephyrs (4-2) 3, Memphis Redbirds (3-3) 2 (10 innings)
Michel Abreu doubled home Argenis Reyes who walked to start the bottom of the tenth with the game-winning run. Abreu was 2-5 with a couple of RBI.
Adam Bostick pitched effectively over seven innings, yielding two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five. I’m pleased to see him go through seven innings on 102 as evidence of improved command. At his wildest moments in 2007, making it through five innings was a struggle.
Reason for optimism after a week: Two nice starts from Bostick in which he struck out 12 and walked four. Enough good work by Carlos Muniz in relief to merit a promotion to the big leagues.
Reason for pause: Where’s the MLB depth?
Akron
Aeros (2-3) 3, @ Binghamton Mets (3-3) 2
The B-Mets wasted a second strong start from Jon Niese when reliever Edgar Alfonzo have up a pair of seventh inning homers. Over six innings, Niese allowed just two hits, one of which, unfortunately, left the yard. He fanned five and walked one.
The Mets left a whopping 18 men on base. Mike Carp (2-3) went deep for the second time this season, and is still the only B-Met with a bomb. Nick Evans, Jose Coronado and Ambio Concepcion all added two hits as well.
Reason(s) for optimism: Carp’s two early season homers. Jon Niese’s two fine starts over which time he’s allowed one run in 11 innings, with 10 strikeouts and just two walks. Dan Murphy is hitting a tidy .400 after Tuesday’s game.
Reason(s) for pause: Fernando Martinez is 3-for his first 22.
St. Lucie (A+ -
Brevard
County Manatees (3-3) 7, @ St. Lucie Mets (0-6) 4
A six run first against Garry Bakker removed much of the suspense from this one. Bakker now boasts a 23.63 ERA after two St. Lucie appearances. Bakker, now 25, spent the last two and a half years with the White Sox Advanced A affiliate, the Winston-Salem Warthogs where just 14 of his 92 appearances were starts. Stephen Clyne continued his strong work out of the bullpen, dealing two perfect frames with three strikeouts.
The Mets did collect ten hits, two each for Ezequiel Carrera, Lucas Duda and Leivi Ventura. Carrera tripled and Duda nailed his first homer of the year.
Reason(s) for optimism: Duda’s .292/.320/.500 start. Carrera is also 7-24 (.292) with two triples.
Reason(s) for pause: um, 0-6? Last in the league in ERA. Second from last in the league in OPS.
@
Charleston RiverDogs (5-1) 7, Savannah Sand Gnats (3-3) 3
The prolific ‘Dogs offense pounded out 16 hits and chased starter Michael Antonini after just 2.2 innings.
At the plate, Richard Pena was 2-4 with a double providing the Gnats’ only multihit game. Shortstop Matt Bouchard, who comes with a fine defensive reputation, committed his fifth error of the year, this one on a throw.
Reason(s) for optimism: An ok first start for Scott Moviel.
Reason(s) for pause: A team batting average of .188, dead last in the league.
Toby Hyde has written Toby’s Mets Minor League Report
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