As we near the start of the season, is there anything that spring training can tell us? There is conventional wisdom out there that says no, but at the Daily Stache we don’t put stock in conventional wisdom.
Here are some things that raise a Spock-like eyebrow:
Dilson Herrera was hitting .100, which is slightly better than Willie Mays Hayes spring training in Major League 2. Sure he was sent down on the 15th, and is not an impact on the major league roster here, but striking out 10 times? Not good, I’m not ready to apply the b-word to Dilson yet but if he is looking to make the roster need to put in some real effort and open some eyes. He needs to take note of what Lagares has done this spring. Lagares has shown that the injuries last year may have been impacting his approach at the plate more than we initially expected. While .308 in the spring does not mean .308 in the regular season, Lagares’ play in the outfield has at least prompted some discussion about what to do with Conforto.
Speaking of, you might also be concerned with Conforto, who hit just his second jack of the spring, but the power will get there, at this point in his career he should be learning to identify what pitches he can drive and what he should layoff so we can excuse having only one home run.
D. Wright’s back stiffness is another problem. For those that cross-over into hockey land we know the story of Mike Bossy and his back forcing a rapid decline in play and early retirement. Anytime we hear back stiffness and Wright in the same sentence it is cause for concern. The Mets do not have sure-fire hot corner prospect, Herrera’s defense is slightly better than Dan Murphy’s was, so there is no point trying him out there. While the Mets have a ton of minor league infielders that may be options there, none are ready for the full-time role at the major league level.
Does that mean we try and get the Panda out of Boston? Probably not. Wilmer’s slash from last year is: .263/.295/.703 and Wright’s was .289/.379/.814. Sandoval last year was the highly un-impressive: .245/.292/.658. You want to put that into perspective? Rey Ordonez lifetime hitting slash was .246/.289/.600. We can all agree that we were ok with Ordonez not hitting a ton because of stellar defense. The half-eaten jelly donut that Panda left at the morning spread would probably have a better OPS and is slightly more agile at this point. While Wilmer does not have the glove of a 20-year-old Wright, his slash line is acceptable at 3rd and he also does not carry the salary hit that Panda does either. Ruben slash was similar to Wilmer and at a much lower cost. Using Beane-ology, that makes it ok to shed Ruben’s $3 mil, and pass on the Panda.
We’ll discuss the pitching staff and the finger hovering over the panic button that is our bullpen tomorrow.
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