Vegas, Baby! --- 2013

[Edgy MD]

With the 51s debuting as a Mets affilliate on Thursday, the roster looks something like this.

Coaches
Wally Backman, manager
George Greer, hitting coach
Randy St. Claire, pitching coach

Starting Pitchers
35 Gonzalez Germen
48 Greg Peavey
36 Collin McHugh*
32 Aaron Laffey
49 Zack Wheeler*

Relief Pitchers
73 Robert Carson*
79 Armando Rodriguez
40 Dylan Owen
20 Chris Schwinden
2 Carlos Torres
45 Justin Hampson

Catchers
25 Kai Gronauer
29 Travis d'Arnaud*
11 Landon Powell

Infielders
26 Eric Campbell
4 Wilmer Flores*
3 Omar Quintanilla
12 Brandon Hicks
5 Reese Havens
19 Zach Lutz*
8 Josh Satin
7 Brian Bixler

Outfielders
34 Jamie Hoffmann
18 Juan Lagares*
21 Andrew Brown

Showing only three outfielders currently, they'll have liberal chances to use likes of Lutz and Flores out there. But there's probably going to be a move or three before opening day, with a surfeit of starters over relievers, infielders over outfielders, and a third catcher. Havens may yet return to Binghamton.

* = 40-Man Roster dudes.

[MFS62]

I think they're keeping a spot warm for denDekker on that outfield.
He could be ready to play in about 6 weeks. (4 weeks cast comes off, two weeks of BP/ getting his strength back)

Later

[MFS62]

Here are the other rosters from ESPN.com:

BINGHAMTON METS (Double-A)

Pitchers: John Church, Mark Cohoon, Erik Goeddel, Darin Gorski, Chase Huchingson, Adam Kolarek, Jack Leathersich, Cory Mazzoni, Rafael Montero, Tyler Pill, Adrian Rosario, Logan Verrett, Jeff Walters

Catchers: Juan Centeno, Blake Forsythe, Francisco Pena

Infielders: Allan Dykstra, Rhyne Hughes, Richard Lucas, Danny Muno, Josh Rodriguez, Wilfredo Tovar

Outfielders: Darrell Ceciliani, Alonzo Harris, Cesar Puello, Cory Vaughn

ST. LUCIE METS (Class A)

Pitchers: Hamilton Bennett, Chasen Bradford, Marco Camarena, T.J. Chism, Angel Cuan, Jacob deGrom, Randy Fontanez, Jim Fuller, Michael Fulmer (DL), Luis Mateo, Estarlin Morel, Alex Panteliodis, Hansel Robles, Noah Syndergaard, Domingo Tapia, Taylor Whitenton

Catchers: Xorge Carrillo, Albert Cordero, Cam Maron

Infielders: Joe Bonfe (DL), Brian Harrison, Matt Reynolds, T.J. Rivera, Aderlin Rodriguez, Rylan Sandoval, Robbie Shields

Outfielders: Dustin Lawley, Travis Taijeron, Charlie Thurber, Gilbert Gomez

SAVANNAH SAND GNATS (Class A)

Pitchers: Matt Bowman, Hunter Carnevale, Luis Cessa, Julian Hilario, Matt Koch, Jake Kuebler, Rainy Lara, Steven Matz, Bret Mitchell, Tim Peterson, Paul Sewald, Logan Taylor, Gabriel Ynoa

Catchers: Jeff Glenn, Kevin Plawecki, Nelfi Zapata

Infielders: Jayce Boyd, Yucarybert De La Cruz, Phillip Evans, Cole Frenzel, Jeff Reynolds, Chad Zurcher

Outfielders: Brandon Nimmo, Eudy Pina, Gregory Pron, Stefan Sabol

Later

[Edgy MD]

Wheeler opens the schedule tonight at Sacramento which, we might as well get used to since the Mets are now being supported by a western-based affiliate, should be getting underway about 10 PM.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

Did the 51's previously play in Royal Blue caps or is this the result of Metsization?

[Benjamin Grimm]

That's a silly-looking cap. Didn't they used to be the Las Vegas Stars? I like that name a lot better.

[Edgy MD]

More importantly, as the Mets are in Denver sitting out the snow, the clubs' respective affilliates squared off and Colorado Springs brought a 19-5 beating upon the high rollers from Vegas.

Special tip of the hat for Armando Rodriguez for distancing himself from the sorry show by his fellow pitchers.

Chris Schwinden: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR

Armando Rodriguez: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR

Justin Hampson: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR

Adam Kolarek: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR

Eric Campbell: 1.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR

[MFS62]

A interesting number for Travis so far:
2012: 19 BBs in 303 PAs
2013: 12 BBs in 43 PAs

Don't know whether they're pitching around him or his batting eye has improved. But he hit his first dinger of the season last night. He also committed one of six team errors.

Later

[Guest The Second Spitter]

Somebody sneak a hidden cam & mic into the 51's clubhouse.

[MFS62]

The Second Spitter wrote: Somebody sneak a hidden cam & mic into the 51's clubhouse.

I'd prefer that whatever happens in there remains alien to me.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Newly signed D.J. Mitchell walks off with a win in his first start as a 51. You may remember DJ
from such movies as:

Spring Training with Seattle, ...	The 2012 Yankees, and ...	The Clemson [crossout]Bulldogs[/crossout]Tigers!

As DJ's #9 in college might be taken to indicate, he was a position player and late arrival to
the mound, and therefore might yet have some growth ahead of him. He's 25, slender and brings
a hard slinker, and so might end up in the Mets pen before the year is out.

Anyjay, the Aliens walked off with a 9-5 win, with most of the enemy damage done against
Greg Peavey out of the pen. The Big Spenders attack was led by Andrew Brown, Wilmer
Flores, and Zach Lutz, who all had two hits including a double. Brown also threw a dude out
at the plate from right (the speedy leadoff guy Evan Frey), which may be more instructive
to us this day-after-the-night-before.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Clemson Bulldogs?

[Guest Swan Swan H]

And Collin Cowgill still collects big-league meal money.

[Edgy MD]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Clemson Bulldogs?

Yeah, I lost something in the translation there big time. Cats ain't dogs.

#NCAAfail
#itwouldmakeagoodmoviethough

[Benjamin Grimm]

The episode of Mets Insider that's running on SNY this week has a fluffy but infotaining look at the Las Vegas 51s. Featuring interviews with Travis d'Arnaud (his jersey has a lower case D on the back), Zack Wheeler, Landon Powell, and Wally Backman, plus a little bit of Robert Carson, Colin McHugh and a brief glimpse of Wilmer Flores.

[Edgy MD]

The Vegans beat the pants off of Reno today, 10-2. Wheeler started and did nicely, going 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run on five hits, walking one and striking out 8.

It's practically May, babies.

[Frayed Knot]

The one walk part might be the best sign there.

[MFS62]

He also got a base hit, and is hitting .333. Bring him up and play him in the outfield.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Wheeler throws six shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk, while striking out four, in Las Vegas' 6-2 win over Sacramento. I imagine it won't be too much longer 'til he appears for the Mets.

Cowcheese with a three-run homer.

[Guest vtmet]

with all the paranoia that the media was throwing at us about Wheeler struggling in the PCL, it's not all bad...

His road numbers:
4 starts;
2 wins; 1 loss;
1.69 ERA;
21 innings pitched;
19 hits;
8 walks;
7 runs allowed;
4 Earned runs allowed;
0 Homeruns;
21 strikeouts;
.235 Batting average allowed;
1.333 GO/AO ratio;

It's his Home splits that aren't good (and is it a big surprise in Vegas?)...and 1 out of the 3 home outings wasn't too bad (8 K's; 0 BB's; 1 HR; 6 hits; 3 Earned runs; 3.00 GO/AO ratio; in 5.1 innings)...

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=t400&t=p_pbp&pid=554430

[ashie62]

Give Wheeler a break, he is pitching in Area 51.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

vtmet wrote: with all the paranoia that the media was throwing at us about Wheeler struggling in the PCL, it's not all bad...

It's not paranoia if it's true. And it wasn't just the overall results that were concerning-- it was the fact that the walks were up AND the command in general (fastball AND breaking ball) was absent. Given that his explicit marching orders for the last two years have been "pound the zone/trust your stuff," it was more than a little disconcerting... and, apparently, indicative of mechanical issues.

His execution during the last two starts, though, seems to allay those fears... or at least stanch the "paranoia" a little.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Nieuwy training the AAA John Sterling:

[youtube:2ocsmzqr]GK9-TCSOs28[/youtube:2ocsmzqr]

[smg58]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: vtmet wrote: with all the paranoia that the media was throwing at us about Wheeler struggling in the PCL, it's not all bad... It's not paranoia if it's true. And it wasn't just the overall results that were concerning-- it was the fact that the walks were up AND the command in general (fastball AND breaking ball) was absent. Given that his explicit marching orders for the last two years have been "pound the zone/trust your stuff," it was more than a little disconcerting... and, apparently, indicative of mechanical issues. His execution during the last two starts, though, seems to allay those fears... or at least stanch the "paranoia" a little.

He would hardly be the first pitcher whose mechanics got all screwed up when he moved to a bone dry, high-altitude, very hitter-friendly environment. It's very easy to stop trusting your stuff when your breaking pitches break later and the ball carries farther when it's hit. I'd like to see how he does in a home game with the adjustments. On the other hand, I'm not sure it's in his best interests to pitch many games in Vegas, regardless of how well he's doing.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Hopefully the Mets will do better at musical chairs next time and get out of Vegas after 2014.

I kind of wonder why these less desirable Triple-A franchises are still around. Maybe the Pacific Coast League needs to contract a little bit. It would be nice if two franchises can move east and join the International League.

[A Boy Named Seo]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Nieuwy training the AAA John Sterling: [youtube]GK9-TCSOs28[/youtube]

I'm a new fan of 5-foot outfield walls.

[Edgy MD]

Las Vegas, as we know, is a borderline MLB city. Some places are desirable for their own purposes, but not a great match for any particular team. Or maybe a great match for one team --- Las Vegas and Los Angeles, maybe --- that is elsewhere committed.

As far as Nieuwie's catch, great job. I wonder sometimes if the five-foot fence, while easier to leap over, sets up the ball player for more injuries as the impact of the player against the wall isn't spread throughout the body like it would be on an 8-10-foot wall, but focused primarily on the edge of the top of the wall against a single spot on the player's torso.

Not every day you see a rightfielder positioned to make a leap on a ball getting called off by the centerfielder on a ball heading over the fence.

[Guest vtmet]

Edgy MD wrote: As far as Nieuwie's catch, great job. I wonder sometimes if the five-foot fence, while easier to leap over, sets up the ball player for more injuries as the impact of the player against the wall isn't spread throughout the body like it would be on an 8-10-foot wall, but focused primarily on the edge of the top of the wall against a single spot on the player's torso.

good point...I've injured my shoulder, my knee, my ribs and my ankle doing various things over the years, and watching that catch against that fence makes me wince in the same fashion as when I see someone get impaled by a metal fence pole in movies...an 8 foot padded wall would be a little better on spreading out the impact on the body...

[Guest Swan Swan H]

Edgy MD wrote: Not every day you see a rightfielder positioned to make a leap on a ball getting called off by the centerfielder on a ball heading over the fence.

There was a catch I've seen replayed a lot over the years where Willie Mays did that sort of thing to Bobby Bonds up against the cyclone fence at Candlestick Park. I can't find a video, which mostly speaks to my lack of ability with the Google.

[Guest vtmet]

Swan Swan H wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Not every day you see a rightfielder positioned to make a leap on a ball getting called off by the centerfielder on a ball heading over the fence. There was a catch I've seen replayed a lot over the years where Willie Mays did that sort of thing to Bobby Bonds up against the cyclone fence at Candlestick Park. I can't find a video, which mostly speaks to my lack of ability with the Google.

MLB also tries their best to have MLB footage removed from youtube whenever they find it...generally if it's amateur fan filmed stuff, they leave alone...but if it's something from a MLB team's broadcast, they tend to try to get it removed...