Mets' Youth is Answer to Their Woes

All --
I'm taking a day off from writing today (can't stomach it after seeing the Mets pen give up 6 runs today to the lowly Pirates). I dispatched a long time business colleague and fellow Mets fan to utter some logic in this time of bullpen confusion.

by Mark Tordik

Okay, so the Mets didn't sweep the Marlins on Sunday. [Editors Note: Nor did they play up to the level of the Sisters of Charity "B" team against the Pirates on Monday in a make-up game].
We have to give Josh Johnson a lot of credit. He is a big time pitcher although he's still relatively inexperienced. It's a waste of time to analyze Pelfrey's performance since the Mets' bats did nothing to keep pace with the offensively-charged Marlins.

Going back to Game 2 of this series, Murphy and Evans were nothing short of awesome. It is always exciting to see our young talent get called up in August and September every season. Two years ago, Mike Jacobs hit 10 HRs in something like his first 100 ABs. He's a jerk anyway, especially with what he did to Brian Stokes who got his first major league hit in as many ABs -- Jacobs tossed the ball over the Mets dugout and into the stands. Delgado and Mets officials needed to act fast to get the ball back. This was no accident -- the Marlins team was angered by a stong start by the Mets in which they scored four runs in the first inning.

Anyway, back to the young Mets talent. Another minor leaguer who has been getting some blog buzz is Valentino Pascucci who has hit 25 HRs this season for the New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA).

Val Pascucci should be starting in LF for the Mets. Evans should split time with Tatis in RF and Daniel Murphy should be starting every game for the Mets at second base (he played 3B in the minors and should be able to make the switch) while Castillo continues his rehab. I don't want to ever see Damion Easley start a game for the Mets. He should always be used for PH.

Here is what the Mets lineup needs to look like if they are to challenge the Phillies and take the NL East:

• 1B - Carlos Delgado/Nick Evans
• 2B - Daniel Murphy/Luis Castillo
• SS - Jose Reyes
• 3B - David Wright
• C - Ramon Castro (when healthy, of course)
• LF - Valentino Pascucci
• CF - Carlos Beltran
• RF - Fernando Tatis/Nick Evans (if Church comes back healthy, then I'd give him the nod to start against righties only)

Note: I left Argenis Reyes off the list since he hasn't shown enough power and hitting ability. Murphy should be getting the time there. After all, Murphy has a .500 batting average. As for Nick Evans, he started slow batting .179 on July 12, but has been on a hot streak and is now hitting at a healthy .263.

In terms of pitching, the Mets need to bring up southpaw pitcher Jonathan Niese NOW. His ERA at New Orleans is 2.37. (FYI -- Brian Stokes' ERA at AAA is 4.41). He needs to come up ASAP along with teammate Tony Armas who is sporting a 2.54 ERA.

The Mets' future is bright but only if they can embrace the future and give these young kids a shot.

Editors Note: Mark, I thank you and even though I should be neutral as a moderator, I'll compromise and be succinct... "Ya darn right!"

Can We Clone Nick Evans?

What a day! Nick Evans, just called up from the farm, looking like a boyish Jerry Seinfeld, swung a mean stick. Collecting three doubles and two RBI. Let's just say he led by example, showed up the team and got them fired up.

You know, with the DL summoning many a Met these days (Marlon "Pinch Hit a Specialty" Anderson, Moises "Again" Alou, Pedro, El Duque etc...) the new blood - Fernando Tatis included has given the Mets an extra spice that helped them win.

I like Evans. He's a surprise. Looks very confident, shows good patience and judgement at the plate and is very hungry. The night before, he's in Double A Binghamton and then skips a level and literally steps up to the plate. This is the approach the Mets of Yore took -2005, 2006, 1986, 1988 and that especially scrappy 1973 team. The latter foundered most of the year before coming back to roar to the World Series. This is still a goal and it still can be done.

The story on the Mets web site,"Evans makes his mark right away" http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080524&content_id=2762234&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym is a good recap.

Willie Randolph summed it up:

"He hit a bomb in Spring Training off the center-field wall," Randolph recalled on Saturday. "I like his approach -- nice inside-out kind of swing. Usually with young kids, you notice that right away, the way they approach the at-bats. I just saw two or three at-bats at the most and watched him take a little BP.

"He's having a nice little year. We need some help. Guys are getting banged up again. Hopefully, we can get a little feel for what he can help us do, not just now but maybe in the future. He's one of our young prospects. I like young kids, and I like to see what they do."

I see a bright future for him. Go # 6~