Yardbarker: Nelson Figueroa

Looking at the roster....

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:53:35 -0500

Ok, here's a closer look at the 40 man roster, without changing the core of the team there will still be a significant change to the roster......

Free agents this year:

Pedro Martinez, Oliver Perez, Orlando Hernandez, Luis Ayala, Nelson Figueroa, Brandon Knight, Ricardo Rincon, Al Reyes, Tony Armas, Matt Wise,

Damion Easley, Fernando Tatis, Moises Alou, Gustavo Molina, Ramon Martinez, Argenis Reyes, Trot Nixon

Option Year:

Carlos Delgado

Under Contract:

Johan Santana, Scott Schoeneweis, Mike Pelfrey, Billy Wagner ( 60 day)

Brian Schneider, Ramon Castro, Luis Castillo, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Marlon Anderson, Carlos Beltran, Endy Chavez

Arbitration years:

John Maine, Ryan Church, Angel Pagan, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano

Under Control(option players):

Adam Bostick, Ambiorix Burgos, Eddie Kunz, Carlos Muniz, Jonathan Niese, Bobby Parnell, Joe Smith, Jason Vargas, Nick Evans, Daniel Murphy

Of the group of free agents the only ones I see that have a chance of getting a major league contract is Luis Ayala, Tatis and maybe Damion Easley. The rest will move on or get minor league deals with invites, I believe Ollie will out price himself. As they already indicated Delgado will be pick-up. Those under contract Castillo, Anderson and Schoenweis have to go and I could see one of the catchers moving for a more durable or offensive minded player. Arby player, Heilman has to be moved and Sanchez might go as well.

When all is said and done under my estimation 14 players without options will be returning with the 10 option players on the 40 man roster. So with Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Feliciano, Ayala, Delgado, Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Church, Pagan, Tatis, Chavez, Schnieder staying and Castro, Sanchez and Easley on the ropes. That doesn't include guys like Smith, Parnell, Murphy, Evans and Niese who have options but could or will make the team. Even without making a drastic move the Mets roster this year will look significantly different.

Lightning in a bottle

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:00:14 -0500

If the Mets make the playoffs or even if they don't one of the amazing story lines will be their ability to catch lightning in a bottle. The Mets are on the verge of a 90 win season which is a very respectable number and even though we'll be disappointed if it doesn't result in a playoff birth the fact is they rebounded well.

Who would have thought when we were in fourth place, seven games behind, double digits below five hundred, and being swept by the lowly Padres in a four game series by the score of 2-1 in three of them, with Willie was on the verge of being fired we would be where we are. We actually have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs with just three games left to play and while I would have liked them to play better down the stretch they have shown enough resiliency and determination to stay in the fight....

Yes, the expected players have come through as Delgado has rebounded from what probably was a slow recovery from a wrist injury. Church carried the team through the first quarter of the season and when he went down Wright took over until Sept. All along Reyes has fueled the fire and Beltran continues to quietly stack-up HOF numbers.

But if you said that a team would lose their number three starter (Maine), Projected Fifth starter (Hernandez), All-Star Closer (Wagner), Starting left fielder (Alou), Fourth outfielder ( Pagan), Fifth outfielder (Nixon), Sixth outfielder/utility player (Tatis), Seventh outfielder (Clark) and ground ball specialist reliever (Wise) all for the season. And then get no production out of the starting second baseman (Castillo) due to slow recovery, lose the starting right fielder for half the season (Church) and your number four starter (Pedro) who when he did finally come back was in-effective. The bench consisted of a never used third catcher, and two ineffective players (Chavez/Anderson) who slump offensively most of the year. Along with losing the replacement second basemen (Easley) down the stretch to injury and having both catchers in and out of the line-up all year. Also losing back-up pitching options in AAA to injuries ( Armas/C. Vargas/J.Vargas/Burgos), couple that with a nightmare manging distraction and you'd say it was a fifty win season.

The Mets have had a successful season thanks to contributions from the most unlikely characters and even some of those are part of the injury list but Manuel became an expert at catching lightning in a bottle.

To start the season Angel Pagan became the player who was passed back and forth between the Mets and Cubs for cash considerations to a .275 hitting starting left fielder.

Regardless of missing the last two weeks of the season Fernando Tatis should be the comeback player of the year, before dislocating his shoulder diving for a fly ball he was hitting .297. Tatis a natural third basemen was a starting corner outfielder, number six hitter and a key component of this team after not playing regularly since 2003.

Then their are the two rookies straight out of double A, Nick Evans and David Murphy. Evans had that three double debut in Colorado and has cooled since but the righty is still hitting a respectable .262. Murphy already has a nickname ( D-Rex) and has turned into a starting number two hitting table setter. Murph is hitting .325 and continues to come up big hitting a ninth inning triple in a tie game.

Then there are the journeyman who are the epitome of playing the hot hand. Rem. Raul Casanova the catcher who's bounced through multiple organizations and hit .273 in 20 games when Schneider went down. Now Robinson Cancel who has been a career minor leaguer is filling in at catcher and had a huge game tying hit last night along with hitting .245 (not bad for a catcher). A. Reyes stuck in the Indians system for six years signed a minor league deal this year and came up for the first time to play a decent second base and while he's very cool now (.219)in July hit .286. Who would of thought the 28 y/o castaway from the Rays, Brian Stokes would have played such a key role in the pen down the stretch or waiver wire pick-up Luis Ayala would be the closer. The regulars in the pen have been bad but some of the call-ups have contributed at times including 33 y/o Brandon Knight and Nelson Figueroa. Until the three run bomb Mexican League pitcher Ricardo Rincon had been perfect against lefties.....

Finally with second base once again becoming a black hole and other then one year of Jose Valentin hasn't been productively filled since Jeff Kent/Edgardo Alfonzo days, Ramon Martinez emerged. Manuel has been reluctant to use the call-ups he's been unfamiliar with and Martinez was waived earlier this year by the Dodgers when they were begging for infielder but he was slow to recover from a thumb injury. In his first major league at bat of the season he hit a double and then drew a walk. Last night he got his first start and played a solid second in the muddy infield, with the season on the line he had a huge hit.

It's truly Amazin that the Mets are even in this position.......

If the Mets are for real it's time to beat their best, Zambrano

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:43:37 -0500

The Mets won last night and it was because Santana put his best effort forward. Tonight the Mets will have O.P. vs Carlos Zambrano...

Perez's Breakdown:

Next Game: 9/24 vs. CHC (Scheduled Next Start: 9/24 vs. CHC)
	G	GS	W	L	SV	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	BAA
Career vs. CHC	7	7	1	3	0	0	0	38.0	43	21	21	8	23	45	4.97	1.74	.293
Home (this year)	15	15	4	2	0	0	0	86.1	66	47	41	12	44	91	4.27	1.27	.212
Grass (this year)	32	32	10	7	0	0	0	184.1	157	93	84	23	97	168	4.10	1.38	.232

Zambrano's Breakdown:

Next Game: 9/24 vs. NYM (Scheduled Next Start: 9/24 vs. NYM)
	G	GS	W	L	SV	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	BAA
Last game vs. NYM		1	1	0	0	0	0	7.0	5	1	1	0	2	4	1.29	1.00	.227
Career vs. NYM	7	6	4	1	0	0	0	37.0	28	14	12	4	20	27	2.92	1.30	.214
Away (this year)	13	13	7	4	0	1	1	86.0	75	37	36	4	38	66	3.77	1.31	.231
Grass (this year)	28	28	14	5	0	1	1	177.1	162	75	73	17	64	126	3.70	1.27	.242

Perez's Career vs Cubs Hitters:

OPPOSING HITTER	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Derrek Lee	11	2	1	0	1	2	4	3	.182	.400	.545	.945
Aramis Ramirez	11	4	0	0	0	1	0	3	.364	.417	.364	.780
Alfonso Soriano	10	2	0	0	0	0	1	4	.200	.273	.200	.473
Jim Edmonds	8	3	0	0	1	2	1	1	.375	.444	.750	1.194
Jason Marquis	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	.143	.143	.143	.286
Mark DeRosa	6	3	2	0	0	2	0	1	.500	.500	.833	1.333
Carlos Zambrano	6	1	0	0	0	1	1	3	.167	.286	.167	.452
Jon Lieber	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.500	.000	.500
Totals	60	16	3	0	2	8	8	21	.267	.362	.417	.779

Zambrano's Career vs Mets Hitters:

OPPOSING HITTER	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Endy Chavez	19	6	1	1	1	5	1	2	.316	.350	.632	.982
Ryan Church	17	4	2	0	0	1	0	5	.235	.235	.353	.588
Carlos Delgado	16	4	0	0	1	4	6	1	.250	.478	.438	.916
Jose Reyes	16	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	.188	.188	.250	.438
Carlos Beltran	13	1	0	0	1	2	6	0	.077	.368	.308	.676
Brian Schneider	13	4	2	0	0	1	2	4	.308	.471	.462	.932
David Wright	13	2	0	0	0	2	3	5	.154	.294	.154	.448
Luis Castillo	12	6	0	0	0	1	7	0	.500	.684	.500	1.184
Marlon Anderson	12	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	.083	.154	.083	.237
Damion Easley	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.167	.167	.167	.333
Oliver Perez	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
Ramon Martinez	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Ramon Castro	4	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	.250	.250	1.000	1.250
~~Moises Alou~~	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.333	.500	.333	.833
Trot Nixon	3	1	0	0	1	3	0	0	.333	.333	1.333	1.667
~~Fernando Tatis~~	3	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
Nelson Figueroa	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
Jason Vargas	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
Orlando Hernandez	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
John Maine	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
Tony Armas	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Totals	170	37	6	1	5	21	27	31	.218	.333	.353	.686

It's up to Perez to keep this one close and see if the Mets can score against Zambrano!!

If the Mets are for real it's time to beat their best, Zambrano

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:00:27 -0500

The Mets won last night and it was because Santana put his best effort forward. Tonight the Mets will have O.P. vs Carlos Zambrano...

Perez's Breakdown:

Next Game: 9/24 vs. CHC (Scheduled Next Start: 9/24 vs. CHC)
	G	GS	W	L	SV	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	BAA
Career vs. CHC	7	7	1	3	0	0	0	38.0	43	21	21	8	23	45	4.97	1.74	.293
Home (this year)	15	15	4	2	0	0	0	86.1	66	47	41	12	44	91	4.27	1.27	.212
Grass (this year)	32	32	10	7	0	0	0	184.1	157	93	84	23	97	168	4.10	1.38	.232

Zambrano's Breakdown:

Next Game: 9/24 vs. NYM (Scheduled Next Start: 9/24 vs. NYM)
	G	GS	W	L	SV	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	BAA
Last game vs. NYM		1	1	0	0	0	0	7.0	5	1	1	0	2	4	1.29	1.00	.227
Career vs. NYM	7	6	4	1	0	0	0	37.0	28	14	12	4	20	27	2.92	1.30	.214
Away (this year)	13	13	7	4	0	1	1	86.0	75	37	36	4	38	66	3.77	1.31	.231
Grass (this year)	28	28	14	5	0	1	1	177.1	162	75	73	17	64	126	3.70	1.27	.242

Perez's Career vs Cubs Hitters:

OPPOSING HITTER	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Derrek Lee	11	2	1	0	1	2	4	3	.182	.400	.545	.945
Aramis Ramirez	11	4	0	0	0	1	0	3	.364	.417	.364	.780
Alfonso Soriano	10	2	0	0	0	0	1	4	.200	.273	.200	.473
Jim Edmonds	8	3	0	0	1	2	1	1	.375	.444	.750	1.194
Jason Marquis	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	.143	.143	.143	.286
Mark DeRosa	6	3	2	0	0	2	0	1	.500	.500	.833	1.333
Carlos Zambrano	6	1	0	0	0	1	1	3	.167	.286	.167	.452
Jon Lieber	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.500	.000	.500
Totals	60	16	3	0	2	8	8	21	.267	.362	.417	.779

Zambrano's Career vs Mets Hitters:

OPPOSING HITTER	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Endy Chavez	19	6	1	1	1	5	1	2	.316	.350	.632	.982
Ryan Church	17	4	2	0	0	1	0	5	.235	.235	.353	.588
Carlos Delgado	16	4	0	0	1	4	6	1	.250	.478	.438	.916
Jose Reyes	16	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	.188	.188	.250	.438
Carlos Beltran	13	1	0	0	1	2	6	0	.077	.368	.308	.676
Brian Schneider	13	4	2	0	0	1	2	4	.308	.471	.462	.932
David Wright	13	2	0	0	0	2	3	5	.154	.294	.154	.448
Luis Castillo	12	6	0	0	0	1	7	0	.500	.684	.500	1.184
Marlon Anderson	12	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	.083	.154	.083	.237
Damion Easley	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	.167	.167	.167	.333
Oliver Perez	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
Ramon Martinez	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Ramon Castro	4	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	.250	.250	1.000	1.250
~~Moises Alou~~	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.333	.500	.333	.833
Trot Nixon	3	1	0	0	1	3	0	0	.333	.333	1.333	1.667
~~Fernando Tatis~~	3	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
Nelson Figueroa	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
Jason Vargas	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
Orlando Hernandez	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
John Maine	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
Tony Armas	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Totals	170	37	6	1	5	21	27	31	.218	.333	.353	.686

It's up to Perez to keep this one close and see if the Mets can score against Zambrano!!

Manny Parra Scouting Report, - Mets vs Parra

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:10:21 -0500

In case you never seen Manny Parra, This is what to expect when you watch the game. I also have a complete breakdown what the Mets have done against Parra. Enjoy!

Scouting Report on Manny Parra

Stats
	G	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	BB	SO
2008	27	26	10	6	4.00	148.2	67	127
2008 vs. NYM	1	1	0	1	6.75	4.0	1	4

Inside Edge
	ALL	FIRST PITCH	EARLY	TWO STRIKES	AHEAD	BEHIND	VS RHB	VS LHB	OPP BA
Fastballs	59%	66%	60%	46%	44%	74%	60%	54%	.356
Curves	24%	26%	25%	27%	30%	11%	19%	42%	.151
Sliders	2%	0%	1%	4%	4%	0%	2%	1%	.151
Change Ups	13%	7%	12%	16%	15%	15%	16%	2%	.140
Other	3%	1%	2%	7%	7%	0%	3%	2%	.140
Totals	1488	384	884	380	474	404	1197	291	.274

Mets vs Manny Parra

OPPOSING HITTER	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jose Reyes	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	.333	.333	.333	.667
Carlos Delgado	5	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	.200	.200	.200	.400
David Wright	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.250	.400	.250	.650
Luis Castillo	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Ramon Castro	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
Damion Easley	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	1.000	.667	1.000	1.667
Marlon Anderson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
Oliver Perez	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
Ryan Church	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.500	.500	.500	1.000
Angel Pagan	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	.500	.500	.500	1.000
Moises Alou	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.500	.000	.500
Carlos Beltran	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.500	.000	.500
Nelson Figueroa	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	.000	.000	.000
Totals	34	8	0	0	0	2	2	11	.235	.289	.235	.525

Rookie lefty will get the call tomorrow over Stokes and Figueroa!

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:14:48 -0500

The Mets will throw caution to the wind tomorrow night by starting rookie left-hander Jonathon Niese against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Manager Jerry Manuel announced the long-rumored move yesterday, saying it was an organization-wide decision that Niese would make his big-league debut in the midst of a pennant race against one of baseball's most powerful lineups.

The Brewers, who are chasing the Cubs in the NL Central and currently lead the race for the wild card, were third among all big-league teams with 176 homers through Saturday.

Niese, 21, will be opposed in the 8:05 p.m. start by left-hander Manny Parra, a 10-game winner. Manuel said Niese, a 2005 seventh-round pick, got the nod over veterans Brian Stokes and Nelson Figueroa after much internal discussion.

"That's our best option," Manuel said of Niese. "You don't know what you're going to get, that's true, but [he has] talent. And enough people within the system believe in him. You have to go with that, and you have to trust your people."

Niese, one of the Mets' prized prospects, is being promoted as part of the Sept. 1 roster expansion after going 5-1 with a 3.40 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A New Orleans. He was 6-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 22 starts for Double-A Binghamton earlier in the year.

The Mets need a fifth starter with John Maine on the disabled list indefinitely due to a bone spur in his right shoulder. Niese is expected to be a spot starter the final month of the regular season instead of a regular member of the rotation because the Mets have three off days scheduled in the next two weeks.
Niese's strengths are his two curveballs, particularly the 12-to-6, over-the-top version he uses as his out pitch. He usually clocks between 88-92 mph with his fastball.

Rookie left fielder Daniel Murphy, who played alongside Niese at both New Orleans and Binghamton, said his former minor league teammate has the mental makeup to endure such a harrowing debut.

"He's confident in what he's got," Murphy said. "I think he has the stuff to get out major league hitters if he stays within himself and doesn't try to do too much. He's got the stuff to stay here for a long time."
In spring training, Niese impressed Manuel (who was former manager Willie Randolph's bench coach then) with a strong start in late March against the Braves. Niese threw four shutout innings that day before faltering in the fifth.

Tony Bernazard, the Mets' VP of player development, said the club is eager to see what it has in Niese.
"We think very highly of him. He's a 21-year-old who we expect to be an important member of this team," Bernazard said. "You have to perform at some point, and for him, it just happens to be [tomorrow] against a very good team. Let's see what he's got."

Source: NY Post

Figgy wasn't waiting for Gustav

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:58:52 -0500

Nelson Figueroa wasn't waiting around for Hurricane Gustav. Once the Zephyrs announced the cancellation of their final three games of the season and Figueroa was told he'd be joing the Mets with the roster expansion, he didn't hang around New Orleans:

Jon Niese will start on Tues..

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:20:48 -0500

As the Mets continued to discuss their options to fill the rotation hole for Tuesday in Milwaukee, Jon Niese made his scheduled start Friday for Triple-A New Orleans.

It didn't last for very long. Niese was pulled after 2 2/3 innings and 65 pitches, a strong indication he will make his major-league debut against the Brewers. The 21-year-old lefthander is 5-1 with a 3.52 ERA for the Zephyrs.

The Mets did have other options, but Brian Stokes has become too much of a necessity in the bullpen and Nelson Figueroa already flamed out as a starter earlier this season. Figueroa, who was called up Wednesday, did beat the Brewers on April 11 at Shea. He allowed two hits and two runs in six innings, striking out six.

With rosters set to expand Monday, manager Jerry Manuel suggested that an ideal number of call-ups would be 10 or fewer, and it looks as if Fernando Martinez won't be among them.

Source:Newsday

Jon Niese will start on Tues..

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:20:48 -0500