4/2/18

Mack’s Apples – Jhoan Urena, Yoenis Cespedes, Chris Flexen, Baseball in U.K., Dark Secrets




Good morning.



John Sickels on –

        
       17) Jhoan Urena, 1B-3B, Grade C+: Age 23, signed out of Dominican Republic in 2011; switch-hitter with .277/.358/.440 line in High-A/Triple-A, 14 homers, 18 steals, 64 walks, 130 strikeouts; real pop from both sides of the plate showed well in power-difficult Florida State League; good batting eye, strikes out some but looks recovered from injury seasons in ’15 and ’16; problem here is atrocious defense, .891 career fielding percentage at third is unacceptable, .987 at first base isn’t much better; I think he can hit but where do you play him? ETA late 2018; QUESTION MARK: stone glove.



Fangraphs on Yoenes Cespedes -

        
        Yoenis Cespedes is projected to do much better in 2018 than 2017. In a stroke of sheer coincidence, he is supposed to play more than 81 games this season, too. He posted one of the worst Outs Above Average numbers in all of baseball during his 2017 (-5.2 UZR/150), which might have been a result of his nagging leg trouble -- which itself might have been due to his dislike of water. He's had shoulder and wrist issues this spring, ouchies he has downplayed, although the latter required a cortisone shot. He's been hitting second in the lineup for March games, although I think if you got leg troubles in life you are a much better candidate for the cleanup spot. But I am not the manager. A much more handsome man is.


MLB on Chris Flexen -

         
         New York: Chris Flexen, RHP (No. 9 on Mets' Top 30)
Opening Day 2018: Triple-A Las Vegas
Flexen was rushed to the big leagues from Double-A last year out of need and struggled, posting a 7.88 ERA in 48 innings. He pitched well, albeit briefly, in big league camp this spring and will go down to Triple-A to wait for another chance. There, he can work on trusting his stuff, something he did in the Minors, but not in New York last year. There is some pitching depth in this organization, but Mets fans know exactly how tenuous that can be.



Will Major League Baseball Find Fans in the U.K. ? –

        
         Both the NFL and NBA, said Stainer, have done a good job of importing not just their games but the atmosphere surrounding them. “It’s a different sports experience. It’s a lot more social,” he said. “There is a lot more celebration. It draws in big crowds who are not just there for the sport.”

But these annual sports roadshows aren’t enough to create lifelong fans, said Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at the University of Salford in Manchester. “Britain has an undiminished appetite for sport, and people here are prepared to spend to consume it,” said Chadwick. “However, it will take more than a couple of games at a swanky venue in London to persuade large numbers of people that baseball is



Why Are Sportswriters Whitewashing Baseball’s Dark Secrets? –

        
         As the gatekeepers of the Hall of Fame, these writers invoke the “character clause,” a practice of moral relativism that too often ignores the blemishes in the game’s history and the failings of baseball legends from years past. Yahoo! Sports columnist Jeff Passan recently gave up his Hall of Fame vote because he believes that Cooperstown has become “a shining beacon of divinity set upon a hill of hypocrisy.” The Hall of Fame is a museum, but too many writers, he argues, treat it as a shrine. It is filled with “racists, wife beaters, drunks, gamblers and purveyors of manifold moral turpitude.”

20 comments:

Ernest Dove said...

I remain a fan of Jhoan Urena.
I'd also humbly argue it's not that he has a "stone glove" his glove work is pretty good.
The issue according to my eyeball test is his instructs, decision making over at 3b. And his arm strength/accuracy is a question especially when he has to throw on the run.
Because of his deceptive speed I'm hoping he can make a go of it in the OF.

Ernest Dove said...

*instincts not instructs.

bill metsiac said...

Maybe a trade to a team in the DH league is the best solution.

Tom Brennan said...

Bill, Jhoan so far in his career is not nearly the hitter that, say, a Wilmer Flores was at a similar age and level of experience. He is closer to a Cesar Puello - very marginal major league potential unless something really changes with the bat.

He has the speed and glove to be an outfielder - but his hitting has him in the "maybe a back up major leaguer someday" category, to me. Hit like a Conforto or even a Nimmo, and I will get real excited fast over Urena.

Tom Brennan said...

I'd prefer happy PED users in the Hall of Fame to "racists, wife beaters, drunks, gamblers and purveyors of manifold moral turpitude," any day.

Reese Kaplan said...

Well, if you retroactively want to remove the less-than-upstanding from the Hall of Fame, make way in the discard pile for the likes of Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantles and many others.

Eddie from Corona said...

Hate to disagree with you Tom But the HOF is for what you did between the Diamond on your own merit. The fact you are a bad guys should factor in ZERO ways whether you are HOF worthy (unless there is code of conduct rule i was never made aware of).
A PED guy is in essence saying he couldn't hack it with out it... So no I want Zero PED guys in the Hall and if you were discovered after the fact then well you should be removed out the HOF.

the part that has always bothered me about the steroid era is that steroids were illegal they were just not testing for it... BUT IT STARTS WITH STEROIDS WERE ILLEGAL.


Tom Brennan said...

Hi Eddie - I used a little bit of sarcasm there - I also am not in favor of PED guys going into the Hall, but wife beaters, etc.? Even less so. Much less so.

Tom Brennan said...

Reese, someone just came out with a work that, I think, says Ty Cobb's badness was way overdone, and I am not interested in reading it, but just wanted to mention that. I hear he is the grandfather of Spike Lee.

bill metsiac said...

The fact that he's working for Trump now should be enough to get Cobb kicked out of the HOF!

Tom Brennan said...

Ha Ha!

Mets A, AA, and AAA have to announce rosters soon - other teams are announcing theirs, and Binghamton has their welcome dinner TOMORROW NIGHT! Vegas begins play on April 5. Will be interesting seeing who goes where.

Mack Ade said...

Tom -

Adam Rubin posted all 4 rosters on Twitter on Sunday.

bill metsiac said...

How can we access them? I don't use Twitter.

Tom Brennan said...

Hi Mack and Bill - I am almost never on twitter, but I did go on his twitter page and did not see it - I wonder if I am just missing it, or if he was premature and asked to remove them? I am guessing the former.

We should get them up on our site tomorrow. Readers are interested in who goes where, level-wise.

Tom Brennan said...

Bill, here is Binghamton media guide, without the roster: http://www.milb.com/documents/1/8/4/270484184/2018_Binghamton_Rumble_Ponies_Media_Guide.pdf

Mack Ade said...

More
Columbia: Cavallaro, Chadwick, Cobb, Debora, Dibrell, Kay, O'Neil, Payne, Peterson, Ramos, Renteria, Simon, Viall, Villines, Mannea, Jabs, Rizzie, Alfonzo, Fermin, Rasquin, Terrazas, Tiberi, Vasquez, Brodey, Gladu, Lagrange, Winaker

4 replies 6 retweets 21 likes
Reply 4 Retweet 6 Like 21 Direct message

Adam Rubin

Verified account

@AdamRubinMedia
Mar 28
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St. Lucie: Atkins, Blackham, Cornish, Dunn, Gibbons, Gonzalez, Llanes, Maggliozi, McIlraith, Nogosek, Pobereyko, Prevost, Ryan, B Taylor, Zhangi, Dimino, Garcia, Brosher, Burdick, Carpio, Franco, Gimenez, Paez, Winningham, Cone, Lindsay, Strom, Zanon

6 replies 9 retweets 29 likes
Reply 6 Retweet 9 Like 29 Direct message

Adam Rubin

Verified account

@AdamRubinMedia
Mar 28
More
Binghamton position players: Mazeika, Moore, Nido, Alonso, Ely, McNeill, Michael, Sergakis, K. Taylor, Mora, Stuart, TEBOW, Urena

4 replies 19 retweets 51 likes
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Adam Rubin

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@AdamRubinMedia
Mar 28
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Binghamton pitchers: Bashlor, Bautista, Church, Crismatt, Gagnon, Hanhold, McGeorge, Molina, Palsha, Shaw, Smith, C Taylor, Torres, Uceta, Zamora

2 replies 8 retweets 17 likes
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Adam Rubin

Verified account

@AdamRubinMedia
Mar 28
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Las Vegas (AAA): Callahan, Conlon, Flexen, Griffin, Jannis, McGowan, Oswalt, Peterson, Purke, Regnault, Robles, Roseboom, Secrest, Taylor, Wheeler, Glenn, Lobaton, Plaia, Cecchini, Guillorme, Kelly, Oberste, Thompson, Borenstein, Biondi, Boyd, Brentzm den Dekker, Mazzilli

15 replies 21 retweets 62 likes
Reply 15 Retweet 21 Like 62 Direct message

bill metsiac said...

Thanks, Mack. Surprising to see both Mazeika and Nido at Bingo. I expected Nido to share time in Vegas, with Mazeika getting most of the time at Bingo or Lucie.

Mack Ade said...

Not sure where Becerra is

Tom Brennan said...

Seems some unsettledness on these rosters. I would not be surprised if they change a bit. I would imagine all will be formally announced by the clubs tomorrow.

TexasGusCC said...

Pitching staffs in all four are interesting, but the starters on Binghamton are weakest set backed up by a strong bullpen but no hitting. In fact, not much hitting other than a couple of guys on any of these teams.