The Mets and Meija

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy DC wrote: I'll say it. I trust and respect Omar distinctly more than I T&R Jerry.

Yeah, me too. I wish like hell that Omar hadn't passed on all those pitchers last winter, but overall he seems to have a better handle on his job than Jerry has on his.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

So, Nieve's emerging as a rubber-armed (at least until the call to Dr. Andrews in July) late-inning force, and Acosta is beginning to look serviceable himself. So... with the two hardstuff-purveyors in the pen already, maybe young Mejia could move back to the minors-- or start up here, even-- instead of playing Brown Stokes in the back of the b--oh, he can't? Why's that, Jefe?

While there has been a tempest among fans wishing that Mejia would be in the minors readying for a starting job, Manuel feels he's not suited for starting now. "I don't think he has had enough of his repertoire to show," he said. "He's been mostly a one-pitch or two-pitch guy, but as a starter, the repertoire of the curveball, the change-up, the sinker, all those type of things are needed."

Oh, that's hilarious.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think relieving at the big league level and returning to the rotation in winter ball is a workable plan, though, don't you?

[Ceetar]

Edgy DC wrote: I think relieving at the big league level and returning to the rotation in winter ball is a workable plan, though, don't you?

I always feel any major league experience is worth so so much more than minor league. People make arguments about mental toughness, but with the exception of a few players (Nick Evans perhaps), most athletes are mentally tough enough to overcome it. There is so much failure in baseball that if a guy was ruined if he didn't succeed in his first taste, so few players would ever make it.

And at this point I'm no longer concerned with Mejia's "development" only with the 2010 Mets. Let him stretch out in winter ball, stop thinking about Verducci (The Mets haven't shown that they necessarily believe or adhere to any sort of Verduccian innings limit for sophmores) and let him pitch here this year if he can help the team win.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: I think relieving at the big league level and returning to the rotation in winter ball is a workable plan, though, don't you?

Not if you're not going to use him, it's not. In a pen where Francisco Rodriguez was just used thrice in three days, and Nieve's been in 12 of 18 full-size games, Mejia's on pace for 56 innings, and has faced one batter since the Igarashi injury.

It stands to reason that the organization should either use him frequently-- the whole point of having him up was to help the major-league team, right?-- or send his ass down so he can work on this secondary pitch problem that Bespectacled Genius over here just discovered.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think it stands to reason that he'll get used, that Jerry is trying to ease him as best as the situations will allow, and all should be thankful he hasn't been used as much as others have been.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: I think it stands to reason that he'll get used, that Jerry is trying to ease him as best as the situations will allow, and all should be thankful he hasn't been used as much as others have been.

Whence this new faith in Ol' Jerry's bullpen management/general stewardship?

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't think of it particularly as faith in Jerry's stewardship, so much as observation of how Jerry's described his intentions, observation of how frequently Manuel goes to the pen, and observation of the nature of attrition.

Do you really think he'll developmentally stagnate from disuse?

[Ceetar]

At one point wasn't he in like 4/5 of games? Maybe Jerry's just figuring he should give him a couple of days after that, and situations just stretched it a bit.

He was warming up last night. Maybe they chose Valdes when it started to rain figuring he's the guy they'd most prefer to burn if their was a long delay.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: I don't think of it particularly as faith in Jerry's stewardship, so much as observation of how Jerry's described his intentions, observation of how frequently Manuel goes to the pen, and observation of the nature of attrition. Do you really think he'll developmentally stagnate from disuse?

I think it's possible that he develops habits-- working in-game to hitters and between games to stay loose--that do not necessarily suit him for future-starter duty, habits which-- owing to his youth-- may prove a bit difficult to break once crystallized.

And both you and Cee make fair points about bullpen usage. I just thought it kind of bemusing (I wish it were surprising) that HungJerry slags Mejia's secondary stuff for lack of development when he has had a direct impact on that very deficiency, and argued the opposite way just weeks ago ("Keep him up," "all he needs is that fastball," yadda yadda yadda).

[Ceetar]

I routinely mute or turn off the TV when Jerry's on now. I don't need to be lied to or try to spot all the contridictions like some crazy Mets word puzzle.

I only listen when he's on with Francesa and i'm stuck in the car anyway.

But that was my biggest contention with the move to begin with. If it was me, he'd have gone to AA, but I could live with him in teh Majors if he was helping and was still throwing his secondary stuff and not being pigeon holed into some sort of Rivera emulation.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't think it's that surprising. He wants him to focus on his primary pitches right now and use the secondary pitches more to show. If and when he develops into a starter, he intends for Mejia to be bringing those pitches along.

When asked why he's not an option for a starter right now, well, one reason is that he hasn't been developing those secondary pitches, under management's advice. I don't think there's any gotcha there.

If you don't believe he's going to stagnate from disuse, why intimate otherwise? It's pretty clear what's going on here.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Mejia suffers from disuse insofar as he could be doing other things that benefit him and the organization more profoundly-- for example, cutting his starter teeth right now in AA.

If the major-league team is not using him much-- and really, only in blowouts/last-pitcher-standing-fests-- then why is he here and not there?

[Guest Edgy DC]

You're kind of going back and forth from he's suffering disuse, he's not really suffering disuse, to he is really suffering disuse. I can keep repeating myself that he likely will, but it's really just a slow week for the bullpen because the starters have thrown well.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I really don't see what you're seeing here as far as my supposed vacillation goes.

I don't recall making the argument that he was suffering from disuse at all-- or even addressing that aspect of this, until you did. The only statements/points I've made are:

A) He's up in the majors ostensibly to bolster the bullpen.

Of late, he appears to be the last man out of said bullpen,* and therefore, isn't helping the major-league team all that much.

C-1) By dint of his current role (both as defined by his manager/pitching coach and an in-game risk-reward scale that tends to punish-- or at least urge away from-- experimentation), he is also not working on his secondary pitches (which his manager recently agreed need development if he's to become anything but a short-relief arm).

C-2) By providing little value to the major-league team while not working on his secondary pitches, he is being wasted (exactly how much, I'll grant, is arguable).

D) It strikes me as sort of funny for a manager that argued for him to be here, living by the fastball almost exclusively (something like 85 percent of his pitches thrown, IIRC), to kvetch publicly about his lack of secondary stuff. So I could at least thank Manuel for that dark little laugh, I suppose. (Thanks!)

*A point I later modulated somewhat.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Come on. You know he wasn't "kvetching." At all. He was answering a question as to why he doesn't want to use the guy as a starter with his team. He's preparing him for a different role right now.

Would you have him answer another way? "Sure, I think it's a great idea to have him start!" You'd obviously rip him to shreds for setting the guy up to fail by developing him for one role and throwing him in another. So he's protecting the guy from that sort of failure --- exactly what you'd want. Is there any right here? Because I don't want to think it's just "Jerry's always wrong because it's Jerry."

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

As per ESPN-NY's Adam Rubin, Jenrry Mejia will be headed for the minors (level unspecified) to prepare himself to start again.

That could be timed with R.A. Dickey�s activation before Wednesday�s start, a team source told ESPNNewYork.com. The decision is believed to have been affirmed during Monday�s meeting at Turner Field that included chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, GM Omar Minaya, assistant GM John Ricco and manager Jerry Manuel.

[Guest Frankenstein]

GOOOD!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Frankenstein wrote: GOOOD!

But how do you feel about this week's possible firings?

[Guest Frankenstein]

JEFF - BAAAAD!

OMAR - BAAAAD!

JERRY - BAAAAD!

[MFS62]

There goes the neighborhood.

EDIT. Er, I guess as long as you're a Mets fan, welcome, big guy.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm glad the monster agrees, because the blogosphere is frying the Mets for this.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: I'm glad the monster agrees, because the blogosphere is frying the Mets for this.

For letting him stretch out to be a starter?
Or for delaying the move?

Later

[Gwreck]

Edgy DC wrote: blogosphere

I vote to ban this word.

[Benjamin Grimm]

MFS62 wrote: Edgy DC wrote: I'm glad the monster agrees, because the blogosphere is frying the Mets for this. For letting him stretch out to be a starter? Or for delaying the move? Later

I think for changing their minds.

[Ceetar]

Gwreck wrote: Edgy DC wrote: blogosphere I vote to ban this word.

I don't have a real problem with the word, but it does generally seem to have a negative connotation to it.

Seems like the Mets did actually have a plan with Mejia though. Willing to try things, didn't meet expectations or whatever, so starting it is.

[Gwreck]

There's no evidence that the Mets had any particular plan, nor is there any evidence to suggest Meija failed to meet expectations. In fact, he was very good as a reliever (18 Hits and 8 BBs in 17 1/3 IP, 14Ks, 2.60 ERA).

[Guest Edgy DC]

Of course they had a plan.

And it's important to value the plan, but it's also important to adapt the plan as new information becomes available and circumstances change.

[Frayed Knot]

I was very against Mejia starting the year both in the majors and in the pen - but, in all, things didn't turn out so bad. He got his feet wet and showed he can complete at this level despite his youth and small amount of pro experience. It also served to keep his overall innings count down as compared to what it was likely to have been if he went wire to wire as a starter.

Now **hopefully anyway** they can/will build him back up to throwing starter innings in an environment where development takes precedence over winning the game and, as long as they don't feel some sort of need to rush him back as a ML starter according to some timetable that's based on everything except his needs, this could all work out for filling a rotation spot later in the year.

[smg58]

I don't like messing around with a very young arm, so while I'd have preferred to see him start in AAA this year, I think it would have been better for Mejia to stick with relieving once he was committed there. It's not hard to bring up a starter to use in the pen late in the year if he fills a need, but it's not clear that stretching a young arm out mid-season is as benign (see Joba rules).