Buffalo Bisons 2010

[Guest Edgy DC]

He didn't forget Ruben Tejada.

[Gwreck]

Forgot to bold him...

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Forgot to bold him...

Boom. Bolded.

[MFS62]

Should have said "update on Tejada".
His stats didn't include the 4-4.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Down 7-5 to those Louisville Bats, the Bisons rallied for three runs and a win in the ninth. Mike Jacobs homered and provided the winning margin with a sacrifice fly. Hessman also homered (his 10th!), and Elmer Dessens pitched the final two innings and picked up the win.

Dillon Gee hung in there through the first four, but was battered for six runs over the next 2 1/3.

Backup centerfield candidates:

Jesus Feliciano: .360 / .400 / .438 // .838 in 93 PA
Jason Pridie: .297 / .345 / .399 // .743 in 148 PA
Fernando Martinez: .244 / .300 / .378 // .678 in 83 PA

I guess Nieuwenhuis can also be considerd a candy-date at Bingo: .313 /.349 / .500 // .849.

[MFS62]

Feliciano is more a corner outfielder, although I guess he could play center.
Martinez hasn't been playing for a while with a lower hamstring problem. ("not considered serious") Don't know if is is on the DL.
Nieuwenhuis has been doing well, but is starting to strike out again. He may be the CF answer in the future, but I feel he's still 1 year+ away.
Pridie is a CF, is a lefty batter, and might perform better than GMJ. Jury is still out on my assessment on him. He doesn't knock my socks off when I listen to the games.

Another CF prospect I've started to follow is Sean Ratliff at StL.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

MFS62 wrote: Feliciano is more a corner outfielder, although I guess he could play center.

Felicano has played more time at center than any other position, according to avialable data.

MFS62 wrote: Martinez hasn't been playing for a while with a lower hamstring problem. ("not considered serious") Don't know if is is on the DL.

Fernando is activated but still balky. Leg and back.

MFS62 wrote: Nieuwenhuis has been doing well, but is starting to strike out again. He may be the CF answer in the future, but I feel he's still 1 year+ away.

I'm clearly not talking about a centerfielder of the future, but a reserve for some part of 2010.

MFS62 wrote: Pridie is a CF, is a lefty batter, and might perform better than GMJ. Jury is still out on my assessment on him. He doesn't knock my socks off when I listen to the games.

OK.

[MFS62]

I just saw a stat that may make me think that Kirk isn't that far away. He is 12-32 (.406) against lefthanded pitching. Better than I thought, and may make your 2010 ETA more possible. But I'd still prefer that he gets steady minor league work instead of part time work as a major league reserve.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Please let's not act like I'm arguing for the guy, because clearly I'm not, but rather threw him in there as promotions of successful AA performers as rolefillers are hardly unheard of.

[MFS62]

Gotcha'.
Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

MFS62 wrote: I just saw a stat that may make me think that Kirk isn't that far away. He is 12-32 (.406) against lefthanded pitching. Better than I thought, and may make your 2010 ETA more possible. But I'd still prefer that he gets steady minor league work instead of part time work as a major league reserve.

The primary knock on Captain Kirk, as I understand it, isn't so much the platoon split. It's strike-recognition/strike-zone-"control" (as measured via out-of-zone swing percentage or, more readily, walks, and walks vs. strikeouts).

Lots of Ks are workable-- if frustrating to watch from the stands-- if he's walking a bunch. Up until last year, he hadn't walked at all; last year, that walk rate came up to near-average, and a power boost came with (coincidence?). If he can maintain, like, an 8-10 percent walk rate, and the power accompanies him as he moves up through the minors/to the majors, then that'll play in a MLB starting slot.

Has anyone seen him in center?

(Another thread?)

[MFS62]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Has anyone seen him in center? (Another thread?)

I've asked that to someone who has seen him play center. I'll post it here when I get a response.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

There's buzz out there that the Bisons are looking to add the Kingmanesque Val Pascucci, currently playing with the independent Lancaster Barnstormers. Val last came through the organization by slamming 28 underappreciated homeruns for New Orleans in 1998. He's 31, has a career .883 OPS in the minors, and has only 32 games with the 2004 Expos to show for it at the major league level.

I guess you can read into this that the Mets are planning on keeping Carter in the bigs or that that they're planning on keeping Nick Evans in Binghamton, but man, are they trying to turn Coca-Cola Field into a sluggatorium or what?

[MFS62]

He has homered tonight in his debut with the Bisons.

As for Kirk, here's the response I got:

I'm confident Nieuwenhuis can play centerfield at the highest level. His athleticism is plenty strong enough. His reads off the bat are improving. His range is above average. A year ago I wasn't too sure about Nieuwenhuis in centerfield, but the way I saw him play center so far this year, I've come around to it.

Later

[Guest themetfairy]

Kirk looked lost at the plate tonight as the B-Mets played in Trenton. He has a long way to go before he's ready for the bigs.

[bmfc1]

Misch with a complete game shutout today. And another HR for Hessman:

9 CG SHO by Pat Misch (3-0), retiring the last 11 batters, as #Bisons win 4-0. Misch 4H, 6K, 0BB, 91 pitches. Hessman HR (12) 41RBI.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

In last night's 8-6, extra-inning Buffalo loss to Charlotte, Mike Hessman goes 2-3, with a double and a Paul Bunyan-y home run. He's at .317/.398/.697 and leads the International League in HR, Slugging, and OPS.

Everyone else goes to the bench or DL with injuries:

-- Ruben Tejada went 0-1, committed two errors, and went to the bench with "dizziness."

-- Jason Pridie made a gorgeous catch to rob a homer in extras... and left the game with a hamstring strain, with a DL stretch likely.

-- Josh Thole went 2-4 with a double and walk (YAY!) and promptly hurt his hip tripping over a bat while catching in the 11th inning (BOO!). He's day-to-day.

-- Andy Green was hit by a pitch on his left hand and left the game; X-rays scheduled for today.

Edited May 19, 2010 by Guest

[Guest Edgy DC]

Sheesh, what a battle. Pridie going to the DL is good news for Gary Matthews and not such good news for most other peeps.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Looking for arms? Pat Misch, the last two times out, has pitched a complete game shutout and a seven-inning, three-hit, one run outing.

He's now 4-0 with a 3.02 ERA.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"And I'll be up next week, in the other dugout! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

[MFS62]

Josh Thole had three hits last night, including a double and a home run. Finding his stroke.
Val seems to have lost his.
Took another sombrero last night, and has collected so many recently he could open a haberdashery store.
J. Feliciano is now hitting .371!
Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

Guy	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jesus Feliciano	149	.383	.435	.481	.917

[bmfc1]

Mike Hessman with 2 homers today, including a 10th inning walk-off, giving him 16 for the year. Manny Acosta gets the win. Murph goes 0-5. Two more hits for J. Feliciano. (10:35 AM start for the Bisons.)

http://buffalo.bisons.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t422&t=g_box&gid=2010_05_27_tolaaa_bufaaa_1

[Guest Edgy DC]

Josh Thole's batting average before promotion to the Mets: .203 in 21 games.

Josh Thole's batting average during promotion to the Mets: .000 in zero games.

Josh Thole's batting average since promotion to the Mets: .353 in nine games.

That's the trick. Call 'em up and bench 'em.

Jesus Feliciano is YOUR International League Player of the Week and is batting thirty-five points better than anybody else in the league.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Mike Hessman is slugging like few others in North America right now. His sixteen bombs are topped only by prospect Mike Stanton in the Southern League and two Mexican Leaguers (including Victor Diaz). So, despite the fact that he's pulling this off while old enough to look like a coach, but still can't buy a big-league break, what does he do? He comes out against the DH rule.

Mike Hessman in the Hot Seat:

http://buffalo.bisons.milb.com/multimedia/page.jsp?ymd=20100225&content_id=8137858&vkey=multimedia_t422&fext=.jsp&sid=t422

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Kicked Russ Adams' ass, that's for sure.

I like this Hessman fellow. Bring him to me.

[bmfc1]

Hessman--how many minor leaguers have a receding hair line? I like that he answered "eliminate the DH" when that would close one path for him to get to the majors.

[smg58]

I hope Hessman is not playing exclusively at third base down there. If he could play second or right without making a mess of things, he could be a serious asset for us.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I doubt anybody really thinks he could play second without making a mess of things.

[nymr83]

if he could play rightfield he'd merit some ABs up here, but the same is true of Carter who apparently came up here to rot