2014 IPP: Vic Black

[Benjamin Grimm]

It was moderately popular last year, so we'll try it again this year. IPP stands for Individual Player Predictions. These will be threads where we share our expectations of how a player will perform in the current year. Feel free to make your predictions as specific or as vague as you like. (You can find a listing of the 2013 IPPs here.)

I think Vic Black will emerge as the primary eighth-inning guy, getting save opportunities in the (hopefully) few times that Bobby Parnell is unavailable. 3.40 ERA, 65 games.

[Vic Sage]

He'll get a shot at setting up, but he'll walk the world and get sent down before a late-season call-up reestablishes him for 2015.

4.95 ERA / 45 ip

[Ceetar]

35 IP, 3.2 ERA, 8.2 K/9 3.0 BB/9 ERA+ 112

[smg58]

He'll be up and down, literally and figuratively. I'll say 30 IP up here with a 3.80 ERA.

[Lefty Specialist]

Spends weeks wandering around the back fields at St. Lucie, constantly adjusting his glasses, muttering and cursing about the issues of the day, occasionally showering teammates with flecks of spittle, until the Mets discover they'd actually traded for LEWIS Black. He's immediately sent to Aruba.

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

I like him. Seems to have a live arm. I hope he doesn't lose innings to Valverde. But he seems to be the designated replacement closer if Parnell's out.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

He'll see a LOT of work.

66 G, 67 2/3 IP, 3.18 ERA/1.22 WHIP, 9.0 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 3 S

[Theoldmole]

One of the staff's three top workhorses.

[MFS62]

61G, 66 IP, 21BB, 63K, 2.31ERA, 1.29 WHIP, mostly as 8th inning pitcher. 6-7 in save opportunities.

Later

[Guest d'Kong76]

I'll second Mole's post.

[G-Fafif]

When in Vegas, bet on Black, because that's where he's starting the season.

[Frayed Knot]

A clear case of someone pitching his way out of a job in ST.
Coming in I would have said he was pretty much inked in.

9.1 IP; 13 Hits; 7 Runs (6 ER); 13 Hits; 9 Ks/10 BBs

[Vic Sage]

10 BBs in 9 IP... yikes!

But I can't say I'm terribly surprised. What did we expect for a month of Marlon Byrd and John Buck... Goose Gossage? There's a reason he couldn't stick on a mediocre Bucs staff. He's got good stuff, but lets see if he can turn it into some kind of consistent production before we crown him closer-in-waiting.

Meanwhile, the 7th spot go to German i assume? He hasn't been great either.

Parnell
Valverde
Familia
Rice (L)
Torres
Lannan (L)
German

[Edgy MD]

Sounds about right. Possibly Mejia?

[Benjamin Grimm]

My hunch is that Mejia will start the season in the big-league bullpen.

[Vic Sage]

i don't know about that. I think that Mejia is either the 5th starter or they start him in AAA. They seem to be committed to him as a starter at this point. I doubt that, due to his injury history, they'll want to bounce him back and forth from the rotation to the pen.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think it's about the innings; they'll use him sparingly in April and May so that he can last the season.

That's my guess, anyway.

[MFS62]

One of his games was on TV the other day. When he takes the ball out of his glove, he quickly taps the ball on the back of the glove as part of his delivery. Not sure it is a timing thing, to make sure he has a good grip on the ball, or something else. I don't remember if he did that last year.
If it was something recommended to aid his control, he should stop doing it.

Later

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think it's about the innings; they'll use him sparingly in April and May so that he can last the season. That's my guess, anyway.

We can only hope that 'last the season' applies to innings and not health.

[MFS62]

Apparently, I'm not the only one who noticed the tapping of the ball on the glove"
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303779504579463650367088562?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303779504579463650367088562.html
Now I know why he does it.
Later