No, Gary Matthews Jr. has not been designated for assignment yet, sorry to get your hopes up with that title. But I know a lot of Mets fans are clamoring for a change and want GMJ off this team. The main reason he is on the team still is because he has the ability to play center field, something that no one else outside of Angel Pagan can do in Beltran's absence. So do the Mets have anyone in AAA that can play CF? They determined last year that Fernando Martinez was no longer capable of playing CF and moved him to a RF. But he isn't even an option, as he is once again on the DL with a hamstring injury. The Buffalo CF is currently Jason Pridie, and there has been some people want him brought up. Since he is on the 40-man roster, I did a scouting report on him in Spring Training. Here is the scouting report from late March, and let's look at his stats to see if anything has changed.
Jason Pridie- #92
3rd major league season (11 games)
6'1" 205 pounds
Bats L/Throws R
The Good: He is fast, and stole 25 bases last year (100+ SB over the past 4 years), and can play all three outfield positions well (Totalzone, which is the main fielding metric for the minor leagues, has him at +63 over the past 4 years). Has gap power and hit 16 triples in 2008 (5 in 121 games in 2009).
The Bad: Walks too little, strikes out too much (85 k's, 19 walks last year, 152 ks and 30 walks in 2008). Was originally a Devils Ray pick, released after 2 years, picked up by the Twins and was released after 2 years. Doesn't have the plate discipline to succeed as of now.
Role: Another 4th or 5th outfielder in the Jeremy Reed mold; will spend most/all of the year in AAA waiting for an injury/seeing if he can stop striking out so much.
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2010 Season: .281/.331/.377, but has 34 strikeouts in 146 at bats versus 11 walks. He is hitting .162 versus LHP and has only one extra base hit in 37 at bats. He has nine stolen bases versus three caught stealing
Obviously I haven't been able to watch Jason Pridie play in Buffalo this year, but judging on his stats, he has not changed much from my scouting report in Spring Training.
CF is the least of the mets worries. The balls that land over the fence aren't in PLAY. Who cares who is patrolling CF. The Mets have let up the most 3 run HR in the league. The Mets have a ton of other issues. Listed below:
ReplyDelete1) PAGAN- CF--He is being consistant and doing a "DECENT JOB" in the absence of Beltran
2) Castillo--2B-- He is a PROFESSIONAL. Not many people like him but he is one SOLID player who shows up everyday.
3) REYES-- PROBLEM #1- He is not a #3 hitter. He has hit more balls in the air than "Willie Mays Hayes" in Major League. PROBLEM #2- He can't bunt
Problem #3- Get rid of the Dredlocks and Dew Rag..cut your hair and get back to the hard nose player you were when you came up.
4) BAY-- LF-- Not living up to the HYPE yet but there are signs. Not a #4 hitter on any team.
5) WRIGHT --3B...ALL "WRONG"... He couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. He needs to shorten his swing and hit the ball to right center. This is not the HR derby, stop trying to hit HOMERUNS on every swing
6) DAVIS--1B--A bright spot in the line up, shame he isn't getting more RBI chances. Mets should think about moving him to 3rd. Enough about being a ROOKIE. If the mets don't correct it soon, this season won't mean much except for a learning experience for him anyway.
7) Francoeur--RF...playing a decent RF, he too needs to stop trying to golf the ball out of the park. Hit doubles in the gaps
8) CATCHERS--Both are doing ok, can't expect much from your 8 hitters but they have over achieved in the HR catagory
9) Pitchers-- Hitting might be the only highlight they have
Pitchers:
Santana--Hasn't been lights out but ONE bad game and the rest he put his team in a chance to win.
Pelfrey-- WELL ABOVE AVERAGE
Maine-- Average
Perez--OH MY GOD...the one ball had an INFLIGHT MOVIE on it. Has that one landed yet??
Well, unlike Anthony, I have things to do but wanted to drop in my 2 cents!!!
PS--I am ready to manage this team.