2nd base - 2006

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Rose retired when Keppinger was, like, 5.

Did you have a favorite ballplayer when you were 5? I was blithely unaware that Ebbets Field got torn down when I was five, and my dad was a big Dodgers fan.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Recap from today's game.

]Chase Lambin hit a two-run, pinch-hit homer off a TV truck well beyond the right-field wall for the Mets.

Including today's 2 at bats, Chase Lambin has an OPS of .969 . . .

















. . . in 9 at bats, which makes it close to meaningless, but that begs the question, why isn't he playing more?

Hernandez is swinging a limp noodle and doesn't get on base. Keppinger, meanwhile, IS getting playing time and is making the most of it (.846 OPS in 37 AB), but he's being ignored anyway.

Between Matsui being out and Reyes being at the WBC, why couldn't they have gotten Lambin some more playing time? And why are we completely disfunctional when it comes to managing our second basemen?

And relief pitchers?

And catchers/first basemen?

But mostly second basemen.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

If Keppinger's getting playing time, maybe he isn't really being ignored.

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Rotblatt wrote: And why are we completely disfunctional when it comes to managing our second basemen? And relief pitchers? And catchers/first basemen? But mostly second basemen.

Don't forget managing young starters--the best way to get shitcanned last year into middle relief or AAA was to pitch a few good games.

[Guest abogdan]

Tony Graffanino likely to be released by Wednesday:

]Tony Graffanino�s days with the Red Sox may be about to come to an end. The veteran second baseman is currently on waivers, according to sources, and will likely be traded or released by Wednesday. With interest in Graffanino believed to be tepid, the Sox may opt to release him by March 29, which is the deadline for teams to get rid of players with non-guaranteed contracts and be only responsible for one-quarter of the salary. In Graffanino�s case, that would be $512,500 of a $2.05 million deal. The Sox undoubtedly are making one final effort to trade the 33-year-old, who was acquired from the Kansas City Royals last July 19. The current waivers, which are revocable, would allow the Sox to pull him back if another team puts in a claim in order to try to work out a deal. Graffanino, who lost his starting job when Mark Loretta was acquired from the San Diego Padres, is batting .182 with two doubles and two RBI in 12 games. The Sox have played him at third in several games to showcase his versatility.

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Quick--let's rent a bulldozer to dump money on Graffinino before March 29th so the Mets don't have to open the season with some miminum wage rookie manning 2b. If we wait until the 30th, he may sign with another team. Maybe the Mets can get him for just a few good prospects--what do you say?

[nymr83]

if he becomes a free agent and doesnt mind some time at Norfolk i'd be in favor of signing him. I don't think anything should be traded to get him though.

[DocTee]

From nymets.com:

Second base second fiddle: Two days after Matsui injured his knee and removed himself from second base competition, the Mets played two split-squad games. Anderson Hernandez played second base in the home game, and Jeff Keppinger played second in a game against the Nationals in Viera, far from the eyes of Randolph and most of the staff.

The Mets have played five games since then, and Hernandez has started each at second base. Keppinger has played third in some, replaced Hernandez in others and not played in one.

Enough said? It should be. Hernandez will be the Mets' second baseman until Matsui's return and, in the minds of some, after Matsui is ready to play again, probably 10 days to two weeks into the season. If Hernandez wasn't the choice, he wouldn't have spent so much time on the left flank of Jose Reyes.

Teammates consider Hernandez the best defensive player of the three, Matsui and Keppinger superior to Hernandez as offensive players, and Keppinger the best mix of offense and defense. And some wonder why Keppinger hasn't been give more of chance to win the job.

[Frayed Knot]

"Between Matsui being out and Reyes being at the WBC, why couldn't they have gotten Lambin some more playing time? And why are we completely disfunctional when it comes to managing our second basemen? "


I admit to knowing next to nothing about Chase Lambin but it doesn't seem to be only club mgmt; few others seem to think much of him either.
A quick check of a few ratings of the Met system shows that BA doesn't rank him even among the top 10 Met prospects and John Sickels keeps him out of the top 20. And this is out of what now is a near bottom-of-the-barrel farm system. Maybe it's because he'll turn 27 in mid-summer and players fall off everyone's prospect-o-meter by that age.
BP had better things to say based mostly on last year's sudden power spike (slugging jumped from ~.400 to ~.600 from '04 to '05). Maybe folks want to see him do it again before they take things seriously.

Looks like the 2nd base situation is going to do some shaking out this season. Who knows where it'll wind up?

[Guest heep]

I feel for Keppinger.

Interesting how Noble reported players on the team were wondering why he did not get more of a look and he is the best combo of offense and defense.

I understand the preference for Hernandez, but if he doen not come on against major leaugue pitching, the cream will rise to the top.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]Interesting how Noble reported players on the team were wondering why he did not get more of a look...

He's gotten only two fewer plate appearances than Anderson (51-49), no matter what the other players think.

]...and he is the best combo of offense and defense.

Who is saying that?

]I understand the preference for Hernandez, but if he doen not come on against major leaugue pitching, the cream will rise to the top.

Hopefully, if they indeed have some cream.

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Edgy DC wrote: ]...and he is the best combo of offense and defense. Who is saying that? .

Are you blind? DocTee above quotes nymets.com as saying that "teammates" make that claim.

Or are you complaining that "teammates" could be anyone or no one, and we don't know that the quote isn't being manufactured by the evil Keppinger Advocacy Group. Is this yet another attack on the integrity of journalists in general, conveniently made whenever something appears that doesn't support your own agenda, but conveniently forgotten whenever you wish to cite some report in the papers? if Nymets.com can't find a Met willing to attach his name to a quote about his teammates' relative abilities, then it's as if the quote doesn't exist?

Or are you just blind?

[Guest Rotblatt]

Frayed Knot wrote: I admit to knowing next to nothing about Chase Lambin but it doesn't seem to be only club mgmt; few others seem to think much of him either. A quick check of a few ratings of the Met system shows that BA doesn't rank him even among the top 10 Met prospects and John Sickels keeps him out of the top 20. And this is out of what now is a near bottom-of-the-barrel farm system. Maybe it's because he'll turn 27 in mid-summer and players fall off everyone's prospect-o-meter by that age. BP had better things to say based mostly on last year's sudden power spike (slugging jumped from ~.400 to ~.600 from '04 to '05). Maybe folks want to see him do it again before they take things seriously.

Thanks for the research, Frayed! At the risk of being (more) pedantic, I STILL don't get the lack of love (apparently anywhere) for Lambin. He was at the University of Lousiana-Lafayette at 23, so he got a late start. He then advanced from Brooklyn to AA over the next 2 years, posting OPS's of .763 (179 AB @ As), .770 (401 AB @ A+) & .721 (410 @ AA). So not only has he done pretty well in our farm system, he hasn't actually been there for long. I mean, he hasn't been spinning his wheels in one spot at all.

Anyway, he repeated AA at the start of last year, posting a 1.053 OPS in 181 AB, then getting promoted to AAA, where he split time at second, posting a .876 OPS in 211 AB.

I'm sorry, but that's flat-out impressive to do that well in your first stint at AAA.

His numbers at each stop are comparable to Keppinger's but he displays a lot more power, and he's only 9 months older. So, again, why no love?

Are scouts just not aware of him? Does he look THAT bad fielding second? No one seems to know . . .

PECOTA forecasts:

Lambin, .251 AVG/.319 OBP/.432 SLG/.751 OPS, -3 FRAA
Keppinger, .290 AVG/.338 OBP/.392 SLG/.730 OPS, 2 FRAA
Hernandez, .266 AVG/.313 OBP/.372 SLG/.685 OPS, 1 FRAA (SS)

[nymr83]

]we don't know that the quote isn't being manufactured by the evil Keppinger Advocacy Group

Where do I join KAG?

[Vic Sage]

]Are scouts just not aware of him? Does he look THAT bad fielding second? No one seems to know . .

maybe he pisses in the clubhouse shower?

[Guest Rotblatt]

Vic Sage wrote: maybe he pisses in the clubhouse shower?

Even there, Lambin has the edge--according advanced forecasting by PECOTA, he's on pace to dribble 4% less than Hernandez. Keppinger isn't expected to piss in the shower at all this season, which would seem to give him the edge, but he's ALSO predicted to make roughly 116 "don't drop the soap" jokes to Lambin's 12, putting Lambin back in the lead.

I just don't get it . . .

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I remember years ago Madonna telling David Letterman that peeing in the shower was a good way to cure athlete's foot.

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

Rotblatt wrote: Does he look THAT bad fielding second? No one seems to know . . .

This bothers me. Assuming the guy looks bad at 2B, why not turn him into a utility infielder, and have him back up at the major league level, PH, etc. We have a place like that for Julio Franco and Jose Valentin (and before that for Matt Franco and John Valentin) so if this guy can hit, and is cheap, and is home grown, and has some growth potential, why not see if he can hit at the MLB level, and save a little money that you can then spend on the FAs that (you claim) would bust your budget? You'd have to think a guy with Lambin's record would hit about as well as Julio or Jose, and has some potential to improve, which they plainly do not have. If he's a bust, are guys like Franco and Valentin so hard to pick up in mid-season?

[Guest Rotblatt]

Bret Sabermetric wrote: This bothers me. Assuming the guy looks bad at 2B, why not turn him into a utility infielder, and have him back up at the major league level, PH, etc. We have a place like that for Julio Franco and Jose Valentin (and before that for Matt Franco and John Valentin) so if this guy can hit, and is cheap, and is home grown, and has some growth potential, why not see if he can hit at the MLB level, and save a little money that you can then spend on the FAs that (you claim) would bust your budget? You'd have to think a guy with Lambin's record would hit about as well as Julio or Jose, and has some potential to improve, which they plainly do not have. If he's a bust, are guys like Franco and Valentin so hard to pick up in mid-season?

See, that's exactly it--he looks like he might be able to put up comparable numbers to past-his-prime Valentin. Of course, I don't KNOW because I've only seen about 2 at bats from him and I haven't seen him field at all yet. But wouldn't it be nice to test him out?

It's too late for him to make an impression now because we wanted to give Self, which means I guess Chase will battle with Keppinger & Basak for playing time at Norfolk.

[MFS62]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I remember years ago Madonna telling David Letterman that peeing in the shower was a good way to cure athlete's foot.

Well, I guess if you're not going to use that urine to toughen up your hands (a la Alou) then you might as well put it to other good uses.

Back to Keppinger. A while ago, Edgy mentioned a player who's situation I liken to Keppinger's, in terms of being a second baseman who had good minor league numbers but never seemed to get a real chance in the bigs - Jason Hardtke. Neither was considered to be a great fielder.

Jason hit for more power, but Jeff has hit for higher averages. LA had a guy like that in Adam Riggs a few years ago. He never seemed to get a chance, either, despite some impressive minor league numbers.
You wonder how guys get labelled (such as a AAAA player) and how tough it is to get rid of that label. I'm not saying Jeff has that tag yet, but it sure looks like he could get it soon.

Later

[Guest sharpie]

And Tony Graffanino just signed with his old team, those Kansas City Royals.

[Guest Edgy DC]

The Newark Star Ledger wrote: Before the game, Randolph said that, as long as the team is playing well, the second-base job belongs to Kaz Matsui even when Anderson Hernandez (bulging disk) returns from the disabled list. Hernandez started the season as the Mets second baseman when Matsui was on the DL. Matsui, who had hit in eight straight games, promptly went 0-for-5.

As much as I think Matsui is the better choice, it seems Randolph is going with the old saw of "Don't tinker with a winning lineup," I don't think much of that. It was the same logic that kept Anderson Hernandez in the lineup, before his injury, and now it's to keep him out?

[Centerfield]

I think he uses the line in order to seem consistent. Team was winning with Hernandez, hence no Matsui. Team winning with Matsui, hence no Hernandez.

It is probably easier than admitting "I was wrong, Matsui is better."

[nymr83]

A better statement for Willie to make would have been "the job is Matsui'd as long as he is playing well." The team's record shouldn't matter.
Play well, play more, its that simple.

[Centerfield]

Yeah, that probably would have made more sense.

[smg58]

So is Valentin the guy at second base right now, or are they platooning him with Woodward? And do they keep Kaz around, or is it only a matter of time before he gets DFA'd?

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I don;t mind Kazoo as a bench player: He can pinch-run, bunt if needed, switch-hit, fill in defenssively at 2nd (or SS, in an emergency). Once in a while, he can drive one to the gap for xtra bases.

Don't see a great need for him in that capacity but while Valentin is an everydayer, you're gonna need a LH bat on the bench. It's Kaz for now.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't think they'd ever look to him as a defensive replacement, though they would with Hernandez if he were around. Valentin thus far seems like the veteran he is --- sure-handed but not rangey. He make a fine diving stop to his right last night, though he got a nice long clean hop. An inning or two later, he waved at a hard hit but catchable ball to his left.

This could remain interesting. I don't think Kaz is going to get buried. He'll probably eventually hit his way into more playing time, as Valentin did. I strongly doubt he'll see full-time status again on this side of the Pacific, but the Mets may need something more from him before the year is over.

[Guest Edgy DC]

It's official. Willie has named Valentin his secondbaseman "unitl further notice."

[Elster88]

Deserved.