Eddie C's Mets Notebook: Sandy On Wilmer, Herrera, Noah And More
By Ed Coleman
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Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has occasionally taken to meeting with the media after the team returns from a road trip and begins a homestand.
Monday was one of those days, and a few answers to questions may raise the eyebrows (or ire) of more than a few Mets fans.
Let's start with Wilmer Flores, who had the game-winning sacrifice fly as the Mets edged Colorado 3-2 on Monday night. I've been more impressed with his defense than his offense, and the opposite was supposed to be the case. He has hit better of late -- he just had a career-best seven-game hitting streak, batting .393 over that span. He also was 0-for-his-last-10 before delivering the sac fly. So Alderson was asked if Flores is a "viable option" at SS moving forward.
Interesting. Flores has always shown power at the minor-league level, but that has been lacking in the majors. He has driven the ball better and shown more power recently, but in close to 200 at-bats he has nine doubles, three home runs, 18 RBIs and an OBP of .268. His OPS is .596. Where is Flores' power quotient in Alderson's estimation?
Noah Syndergaard was supposed to follow the midseason promotion path of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler. There were setbacks and injuries, and he didn't pitch that well at times. He's not coming, despite still having some innings to use up. So why not bring "Thor" up?
Veteran Bobby Abreu was called up and Syndergaard wasn't. When Alderson was asked why that was the case, his answer told you a lot about the desire to spread the philosophy of a patient approach at the plate, and swinging at pitches that you can drive or do damage with.
Daniel Murphy is eligible to come off the disabled list on Tuesday and will likely be in the lineup if he returns. Dilson Herrera, whom the Mets acquired from the Pirates last August, has been filling in during Murphy's absence and early impressions have been favorable. So what happens with Herrera?
Herrera has played shortstop, but Alderson said that he won't get much -- or any -- time at that position because of the presence of Flores.
Pitch counts have also moved front and center as the season winds down. The Mets have two young pitchers -- Wheeler and Jacob deGrom -- who are under watch. The max has been capped at about 330 pitches for three consecutive starts, and Alderson approves of the counts being monitored.
There are times when it can be beneficial to push a pitcher beyond a point or limit -- like getting him through a tough jam or perhaps the seventh inning if he's never been there -- so does Alderson believe there are viable times and circumstances to allow that?
Eighteen to go before the focus shifts to 2015, folks.
C U soon
Eddie C.
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