I May Be Wrong, But… Binghamton, Mitch Houck

1. The talent level is much deeper in Buffalo, but Binghamton shouldn’t be a bad team either.

Starting pitcher wise, there is a logjam with Jeurys Familia, Brad Holt, Brandon Moore, Chris Schwinden, Mark Cohoon, and Eric Beaulac all fighting it out for one of the five slots (my guessis Schwinden will go to the pen after piggybacking with either Cohoon or Moore).This will Holt’s last shot at a starter.

 
Lots of talent in the pen, led by Brant Rustich, Nick Carr, and Scott Moviel. I wold also look for John Lugan, Ryan Coultas, Erik Turgeon, and Rhiner Cruz.

 

The infield could reuinite the combination of Wilmer Flores at SS and Jenry Marte at 3B (though both are projected to eventually change positions). Stefan Welsh and Michael Fisher will battle it out in ST to win the 1B slot, while Matt Bouchard, Jose Coronado, and Jon Malo are trying to hang on as a sub.

 
On paper, Kai Gronauer was slotted to be the catcher here, but he sure is getting an awful lot of action in ST with the Mets. He could wind up in Buffalo. In addition, there’s still Francisco Pena.

 
The outfield will be weak, with Pedro Zapata, Sean Ratliff, Carlos Guzman, Rafael Fernandez, Quniton Berry, and Lorenzo Scott battling it out this month for the four slots available.

Overall, there isn’t enough here to win their division, but potentially, this could be a very effective rotation.

 

 

2. Mets pitching prospect Mitch Houck is done for the season. He had shoulder surgery on Monday… has a tear in the capsule… we’ll hook up with him when the drugs wear off and talk to him here on the site about it…

 

 

3. So, I live in South Carolina, and my local cable company sends me a brochure last month, telling me that I can now receive the SNY channel for $9 more a month. I was so excited and ordered it post haste. Now, I have the service, and find out that all Mets games are blocked out and all I get is Big East and nightly sports roundups. Is there something wrong here? Why would I pay $9 a month for a channel owned by the New York Mets that blocks out their games? In South Carolina? What’s so special about South Carolina? I did some checking and it seems the blackout in national. Great.

 

 

4. The have a complicated problem fielding the middle infield of  both Buffalo and Binghamton. Right now, only Ruben Tejada looks fixed to be the starting shortstop for the Bisons. Second base could be this week’s prospect of the day, Jordany Valdespin, Josh Satin, or Reese Havens.   Satin has had a lot of time in recent years DHing, which is doing him nothing in the long run. Havens should be in AAA, but he was injured most of 2010 and might be cautiously sent to AA to start the season. This would still leave prospect Wilmer Flores to play short in Binghamton until the Mets decide where to move him. ( didn’t even bring up Russ Adams, Jonathan Malo, or Jose Coronado.

 

 

5. Remember last year draft pick, Howard College Damien Magnifico, who turned down a decent bonus offer by the Mets? His stats so far this season, through last Thursday, are:4-G, 8.0-IP, 5-ER, 8-H, 10-K, 7-BB

 

 

6. Sent back to the minor league complex were: 2B Ruben Tejada, OF Fernando Martinez, RHP Tobi Stoner, RHP Josh Stinson, RHP Manny Alvarez, RHP John Lujan, RHP Armando Rodriguez, 3B Zach Lutz, IF Jordany Valdespin, OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis and C Kai Gronauer.

There are no surprises here. F-Mart really stood no chance of making the 25-man, once the Mets became comfortable with a platoon of Scott Harrison and Willie Harris. A few thought Alvarez might stick but he had a horrible spring.
The only non-roster players still in the parent camp are: OF Jason Pridie, IF Russ Adams, catchers Raul Chavez and Dusty Ryan, and pitchers Boof Bonzer, Blaine Boyer, Tim Bydak, Ryota Igarashi, Jason Isgringhausen, Michael O’Connor,and Taylor Tankersley.

Only Bydak seems a lock at this point.

I May Be Wrong, But… Oliver Perez, Buffalo, Bobby Valentine, Carlos Beltran, Zach Lutz, Lucas Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Jenrry Mejia

1. Oliver Perez will be cut on Wednesday morning.

 

 
2. This is the time of the year I normally project out the minor league rosters. I’m going to pass on that right now because the Mets are still signing players and it’s pretty hard to tell who’s going to be around. All the minor leaguers will be in the house by this weekend and things will start to make more sense.

 

 
In addition, there are a handful of players that are currently playing with the parent team. I don’t expect any major surprise promotions here and the Mets utility squad will most probably consist of recent free agent signees.
That being said…

 
AAA- Buffalo
 

 

This should be a really good team.

 
Rotation wise, it looks like Jenrry Mejia, Josh Stinson, Boof Bonzer, Robert Carson, and Dylan Owen.

 
The pen is currently undetermined, but look for Roy Merritt Jose De La Torre, and Manny Alvarez to head up things, while Ricky Brooks might close.

 
An infield of Lucas Duda, Reese Havens, Ruben Tejada, and Zach Lutz is pretty hot. You might also see Nick Evans back here and Jordany Valdespin will sub.
 

 

Two outfield slots are taken by Fernando Martinez and Kirk Nieuwenhuis and, if Evans returns to 1B, and Duda goes back to the outfield… this is quite the lineup.

 
Catcher is still up for grabs. Mike Nickeas will start the season in Queens and my guess is Raul Chavez will be the opening day starter here.
On the bubble: A bunch of guys, some of which could still wind up in Binghamton. Eric Niesen, Jack Egbert, Elvin Ramirez, Eddie Kunz, Russ Adams, Josh Satin, Eric Campbell, Brahiam Maldonado, D J Wabick, Val Pasccuchi, and Jesus Feliciano… and this doesn’t even cover the new guys the Mets have signed in the past couple of months.

 
Far too many players.

 
Overall, this will easily be the best Buffalo team since they became a Mets affiliate.

 
Manager Tim Tuefel should enjoy his first year in Buffalo. He’s have four (Mejia, Tejada, Havens, Martinez) legitimate candidates to be starters on next years Mets’ 25-man squad… and… there might be a couple more future Mets role players (Nieuwenhuis, Duda) as well.
Scouts will be particularly watching Havens and Carson to see if they develop into the projected player they were when they were drafted.

 

3. It would be very bizarre having Bobby Valentine as one of the minority owners of the Mets. I can’t see this happening, even though the Wilpons need to do something soon if they intend to stay around.
 

 

What you have here would be similar to you if, let’s say, three years ago your investments were equally tied into stock futures and equity in the house you live in on the ocean out on the south shore. Then, the market goes south, you lose that shirt, and all you have left is the money invested in your white elephant that is worth less every day in this economy.
 

 

You really don’t want to sell the house, but you simply don’t have the cash funds left to keep it.
 

 

This is basically the Wilpon’s current problem. They have a wonderful business, but it isn’t what it is worth three years ago, and, according to current ticket sales, will be worth less by the end of the 2011 season.

 
The only light at the end of the tunnel for them is the clearing of contracts at the end of this season, which means, if ticket sales don’t return, you won’t see this kind of money invested into player salaries in the future.
 

 

Damned if you do damned if you don’t. You can’t win without quality players. You can’t have quality players without paying big bucks. And you can’t pay big bucks if you don’t sell a lot of tickets.

 

4. I believe that Carlos Beltran was smart to move over to right field on his own, but I think the Mets are pushing him too quick. Let the guy DH for most of ST and rehab him in April down in the minors. The important thing is for him to 100% heal and then hit the cover off the ball before the trade deadline. Beltran will not be a Met next year under any scenario and the best thing with the current money problem is to get two minimum salaried prospects for his services.

 

5. I think it would be best for the powers to be in baseball to sit down with the Wilpon family and convince them to sell the team. I may be on the outside looking in, but looking for another loan to cover operating expenses before your peak revenue season is about to kick in, means you already know you’re not going to take in more than you have to pay out. Moreover, it seems that the only financial relief this team has to look forward to is when the 2011 contracts run out. You don’t really think that current ownership is going to return the team’s payroll to six figures, do you? They’re cash broke.

 

6. Oliver Perez’s successful two innings on Thursday don’t mean squat. Sure, he left with no runs given up, but his fastball still hasn’t hit 88, no less 95. And this is a guy that just finished pitching in Mexico. You can’t say the velo will be coming when it just isn’t there anymore. I’m sure the powers to be were not happy with his… err… good outing.

 

7. It sure seems that players like Zach Lutz, Lucas Duda, and Kirk Nieuwenhuis are getting an awful lot of innings in ST. And, Lutz even made it to first base on Thursday. Wonder why? Well, this is the time of the year that you showcase the best of what you have that you don’t want. All three of these guys are not slotted to replace David Wright, Angel Pagan, and Carlos Beltran, and whether you believe it or not, Fernando Martinez remains the top outfield slotted minor leaguer, followed now by Cesar Puello. If things go right, F-Mart will replace Beltran in RF in 2012.

 

8. It was interesting to watch Jenrry Mejia’s two innings on Thursday. You might not have noticed but he didn’t throw a pitch over 88mph. Believe me, that wasn’t a coincidence. The Mets obvious wanted Mejia to work on his secondary stuff, which he did very successfully. So far, he’s done everything successfully. Hmm…

Press Release: – Bisons Single-Gam​e Tickets Go On Sale Saturday

Buffalo Bisons Individual Game Tickets
On Sale – Saturday, March 5 at 9:00 a.m.
Bisons.com to Hold Online Pre-Sale with No Service Charges
Starting Thursday, March 3 at 9:00 a.m.

Buffalo, NY, March 1, 2011 – The Buffalo Bisons announced that they will place INDIVIDUAL GAME TICKETS for the 2011 season ON SALE on Saturday, March 5. Fans will be able to pick up their tickets to Opening Day (April 7), the Independence Eve Celebration with the BPO (July 3) or any of the Bisons’ 72 home games at that time.

Ticket prices start as low as $5.50.

The Bisons also announced that they will hold a special ONLINE PRE-SALE of individual tickets on the official website of the team, Bisons.com, starting on Thursday, March 3 at 9am. On Thursday and Friday, March 4, there will be NO SERVICE FEES for tickets purchased on Bisons.com.

Buffalo Bisons season tickets and ticket packages are also on sale. Fans are encouraged to visit Bisons.com or call THE-HERD (716-843-4373) to purchase or for more information.