The Tides Wait for No Man

[seawolf17]

Three comments...

1) Petit "has the ceiling to become a 4 or 5" starter?!?! I thought this kid was the savior of the organization? What the hell?

2) I'd give Scobie a look as a long man next year. You never know.

3) Why is the guy from American Pie qualified to give baseball prospect analysis? "Hey, Katie! You may have dumped me for Tom Cruise, but HA! I am working for Baseball America now!"

[smg58]

I think most people value Petit more highly than that, but I'd settle for a solid #3 in a good rotation. Bannister snuck up on people this year, but it's still not clear where he fits in. I could see him making the Opening Day roster as a middle reliever, but I can also think of a few teams he could start for and might be willing to deal for him.

The comments on Keppinger were interesting. I hadn't realized he had played other positions besides second and done well.

I'm not sure at all where Scobie fits in. I could see him as an emergency call-up starter, but I suppose he could also compete for a bullpen spot

[Guest Edgy DC]

Hernandez's advantage is his experience at short. Keppinger's advantage is his experience in the big leagues. I suspect there'll be room for one of them to make the team out of camp next season.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Tides vet Petit via John Sickles from BA:

]Thoughts on Yusmeiro Petit I get a lot of questions about this guy. Mets fans want me to tell them that Petit will be excellent, helping make up for the sting of trading Scott Kazmir. Mets haters want me to tell them that Petit is overrated and will get hammered in the majors. I just wrote up Petit for the 2006 Baseball Prospect Book last night, so he is fresh in my mind. Statistically, he puts up strong K/BB and K/IP ratios. His fastball has picked up some velocity and is now in the low 90s consistently, which helps make his breaking ball and changeup more effective. Eastern League observers I have communicated with say his overall stuff is average, slightly above average on good days, but he mixes it extremely well and hits his spots. He also has a deceptive delivery that makes it hard for hitters to get a good read on him. He pitched brilliantly in Double-A, but was hit hard in three Triple-A starts for Norfolk. I think he'll need at least a half-season in Triple-A before being ready for the majors. Many of these "pitchability" guys turn out to be disappointing, and I can understand why some scouts retain skepticism about him. Pettit is also a fly ball pitcher, and he could face the same kind of adjustment problems that Zach Greinke faced this year, given that his margin of error is thinner than it is for a guy with stronger pure stuff. However, given Petit's exceptional command, his young age (just 21), and his track record to date, he still has to be rated among the better prospects in the game. He still looks like a Grade B+ guy to me, but if the Mets rush him, there's a good chance he will struggle initially.

When evaluating his AAA performance, everyone overlooks Petit's dominance in the AAA playoffs, where he held a very good offensive team to 6 hits & 3 runs in 8 innings, striking out 14 while walking only 1.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Well, you're just a Met fan who wants him to tell you pie-in-the-sky stuff.

Ceeze, Sickles, givve peeps a little credit.

[Willets Point]

Mets haters? There are people who hate the Mets? Why? Teams are usually hated when they have a lot of sucess and/or a lot of bullies, neither of which describe the Mets. I think the baseball world would be divided into Mets fans, Mets pitiers and the indifferent.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Why do people hate the Mets?

Because they play in New York.

I've seen plenty of that in the Philadelphia area.