Diaz to 1st??

[Guest Frayed Knot]

Joel Sherman, NY Post:

The Mets have internally discussed giving former second baseman Victor Diaz a tutorial at first. His lack of concentration in the infield is one reason he was sent to the outfield. But the Mets crave more offense at the position than Doug Mientkiewicz has provided, and an AL executive who saw Diaz play third in the minors thinks Diaz can handle first. Met officials believe first base is a likely area to upgrade if they are contenders come July.

[Guest Edgy DC]

My opinion is all over the old forum, but Diaz should be getting the Kevin Mitchell treatment, and the Mets should be trying to hide him at one position or another four-five days a week.

[Guest Matt Murdock, Esq.]

It's about freakin' time.

:?:

[Guest Nymr83]

I would be ok with playing him at first base against lefties and taking it from there...
i'm just worried that reyes, wright, and matsui benefit alot from doug being at 1B, enough to offset some of his bad offense (but not all the way he is hitting now.)

[Guest sharpie]

Actually I've been kind of digging Woodward at first vs. lefties but 1b is prolly the only place Victor's going to get real playing time.

[Guest Elster88]

]an AL executive who saw Diaz play third in the minors thinks Diaz can handle first

I thought he came from LA's minor league system.

I like the idea of Diaz getting more PT, but what do his actual coaches think? The random AL executive is just as likely to be the assistant to the traveling secretary for Seattle as someone who's a legitimate talent evaluator that has seen Diaz play.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think this is the kind of thing that the Mets have gotten better at under Omar Minaya � not letting un-named sources leak their plans.

I imagine Joel Sherman needed a theme for a column, and called a few guys in his rolodex to make it look like it had legs. Of course, AL execs are just as likely to scout NL prospects in the minors. It's not like the leagues are seperate at every level.

[Guest metirish]

I like this idea, no point having Diaz ride the pine, Woodward is also a good option and has shown he can play 1st.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Woody completely rocks. He played CF last night.

[Guest Diamond Dad]

Trade him now, while he has value! Let somebody else teach him to play first base, which I'm sure he'll do adequately. He could play vs. lefties at 1B, but unless he's getting serious playing time, he should be in the minors playing every day. Maybe send him back to Norfolk to learn to play first.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Hasn't he shown he's completely ready to hit big-league pitching?

Wasn't it completely cool that he pitcher he took downtown to break Chicago's back last year wanted no part of him when he came up in the ninth yesterday?

[Guest Elster88]

Diaz instead of Mientkiewicz sounds very nice to me.

[Guest Centerfield]

Has Floyd come out and said he won't play first? I don't see why we haven't tried a lineup with Cliff and first and Diaz in left yet.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I think that's somnething the Mets shouldv'e considered last year.

I hesitate to mess with Cliff because it looks like he's about to start raking again. Just, get out of the way and let Cliff work.

[Guest Rotblatt]

I agree. Not only does Cliffy look like he's about to go on a tear, he's been great defensively. Last I checked, he was leading OF's in assists.

I kind of like the idea of getting Diaz some work at 1B, although Woody has been pretty solid in his starts.

I'm still holding out hope that Mientkiewicz will start hitting again, but until that happens, we need to keep exploring other options--something Willie's been pretty good at so far.

[Guest Willets Point]

Edgy DC wrote: Diaz should be getting the Kevin Mitchell treatment

You mean you think Diaz should be the scapegoat for Straw and Doc's substance abuse problems and traded to the Padres for Ralphie's least favoriter player?

[Guest Vic Sage]

that's not even a little bit funny.

is it?

:?:

[Guest seawolf17]

Actually, he thinks Diaz should beat up his girlfriend's cat. Or whatever that crazy story was.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Beheaded.

The story is that Mitchell beheaded his girlfriend's cat during an argument.

I think if anyone really investigated they'd find that this is an urban legend.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think Dwight Gooden's Heat is the primary source.

Or maybe it was Gooden's cat, or Gooden's girlfriend's cat. Anyhow, Gooden's cat used one of his nine lives to get revenge.

[Guest seawolf17]

Courtesy of today's Baseball Prospectus Newsletter:

STAT OF THE DAY

Top 5 NL Rally Killers, by Net Double Plays (NET DP)

Player, Team, NET DP

Sean Casey, CIN, 6.29
Royce Clayton, ARI, 6.29
Lyle Overbay, MIL, 5.32
Daryle Ward, PIT, 5.06
Victor Diaz, NYN, 4.83

[Guest Elster88]

Willie said that Diaz is taking grounders at first on M&MD today.

(I like the delete posts feature. Makes me look slightly less like a clown.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

C'mon Bono, shake a tail-feather. Show some pride.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I would like to see the Mets give Diaz a shot at first base. It would be another way of getting his bat in the line up. He could make an occassional start and if the Mets had a lead, they could bring in Eye Chart as a defensive replacement in the later innings.

[Guest metirish]

This is all you need to know about M&MD, they asked Willie about playing David Wright at first base, Willie shot that down , shut up you idiots.