I’m not sure if Mets skipper Terry Collins is being blackmailed, was cursed, is being creative or suffered a brain cell massacre, but his once overachieving team has just one win in their last five games and his questionable moves aren’t helping.
At the forefront is Collins continued use of Jordany Valdespin when the spotlight is shining bright. I’ll admit the rookie’s offensive numbers may be skewed by such a small sample size – 30 plate appearances, but he’s been nothing short of dreadful.
Valdespin is batting .138, with a .167 OBP and .556 OPS overall. He’s got 2 home runs, 4 RBI and 4 runs. Of all 30 appearances, the most – 12 – come in the ninth inning when he hits .250. His slash line is equally pathetic against left- and right-handed pitchers, neither OBP never cracking .175. Making matters worse, he’s being used as a backup shortstop, when all 3 errors in his 23 major league chances came as a shortstop.
He was summoned to pinch-hit for Scott Hairston in the ninth inning of Saturday’s loss. Hairston is hitting just .163 against right-handers and Collins was worried about the Yankees’ interim closer’s ability to get righties. Throughout his career, lefty batters hit 70 points higher than righties do against Rafael Soriano, although right-handed batters are actually hitting .297 against him this year.
But with runners on the corners, two outs and a chance to even up the series, Valdespin flied out to left on Saturday evening.
Some describe Soriano, who boasts a mid-90s fastball along with strong cutter and slider, as a power pitcher. But according to Baseball Reference, a power pitcher is someone who ranks in the top third in strikeouts plus walks. A finesse pitcher is someone in the bottom third. As of Saturday night, Soriano’s 19 strikeouts are nowhere anywhere near the best in the league.
Valdespin’s sample size is likely too small to be of value, but he has hit best against balanced pitchers – a .222 average – and has trouble with power or finesse pitchers. On the other hand, Hairston has hit finesse and balanced pitchers well over his career, a trend he’s continued this year.
Hairston is also hitting .349 with a .746 OPS against southpaws this year, something Fox’s Tim McCarver and Joe Buck both mentioned when Collins made the move.
Saturday’s move was pretty dumb, but it’s been increasingly stupid for General Manager Sandy Alderson to keep Valdespin on the major league roster. Surely there’s another players either in the minors or another team that can be had for cheap.
But Collins also sabotaged his team during this rough stretch by pinch-hitting for and replacing Kirk Nieuwenhuis with Hairston. This first happened during the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 3-5 loss to Washington. Having already gone 1-for-3 with an RBI and a strikeout, Hairston came in to hit against left-handed reliever Sean Burnett. Burnett, who has 21 strikeouts as of Saturday night, struck out Hairston to start a 1-2-3 inning. Nieuwenhuis also came out of Saturday’s game, this time in the seventh inning against left-handed reliever Boone Logan. Hairston singled against Logan, who sported 29 strike outs after the game, while Captain Kirk finished 1-for-2 with a walk.
Hairston’s gawdy numbers against left-handed batters do make him an attractive option, especially considering that Nieuwenhuis’ slash line against southpaws is .191/.309/.564. But as a rookie who has played his way into a starting role both at the plate and in the field, it’s time to give the young outfielder a chance to hit lefties in the big leagues. Sporting a .286/.347/.733 overall slash line with 3 home runs, 20 RBI and 32 runs in 214 plate appearances, just 56 plate appearances have come against southpaws.
Meanwhile, Nieuwenhuis can most frequently be found either leading off the game or as the No. 2 batter, both spots where he has a solid batting average. And his numbers grow as the game wears on, boasting a .343 average in the middle innings and a .298 average in the later innings. Nieuwenhuis crushes finesse pitchers – .400 batting average – and holds his own against balanced pitchers – .289 average, while struggling against power pitchers – .143 average.
In the field, Captain Kirk has proven to ably cover all three outfield positions. Unsurprisingly, 75 of his total 114 chances have come as a center fielder due to him taking over after Andres Torres’ injury. He has committed 3 errors, which gives him a .974 overall fielding percentage, compared to the .984 league average.
Hairston is also capable of playing centerfield, although he’s patrolled left field in more than twice as many games during his career. In 2012, he’s handled 23 chances as a left fielder to 2 as a center fielder.
The veteran’s overall offensive numbers certainly make him a valuable piece for Collins and Alderson; his overall slash line is .274/.325/.909 with 8 home runs, 24 RBI and 18 runs. But his splits are far more dramatic than Nieuwenhuis’, with Hairston’s average dropping almost .190 points against right-handed pitchers.
Hairston clearly has a role on the team as a solid defender in the outfield, lefty-masher and power threat off the bench. But the time of stalling Nieuwenhuis’ possible development against southpaws needs to come to an end.
Of course, the other problem in the outfield is Jason Bay. Fresh off the disabled list in time for the 2012 Subway Series, Bay has continued to disappoint Mets fans as much as he ever has since donning the blue and orange.
Bay is hitting .226/.300/.734 with 3 home runs, 5 RBI and 8 runs in 60 plate appearances this year. In his two games against the New York Yankees, he’s gone 0-for-7 with a strikeout and 4 men left on base.
Of course none of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has watched Bay since he became a Met in 2010. That year his batting average peaked in New York at .259, while his 12 home runs and 19 doubles in 2011 were the most as a Met. This year he had 2 doubles to go along with his 3 home runs.
In 2012, Bay has a .273 batting average against balanced pitchers, but is severely struggling against power and finesse pitchers. He has never hit strikeout-heavy pitchers particularly well in his career, although his average against finesse pitchers should be .100 points higher than it is now.
Like Hairston, Bay is capable of playing a passable centerfield, although he continues to be a much stronger left fielder. In 2012, he’s made 1 error in 39 chances for a .971 fielding percentage, a shade under the .985 percent league average. Making a grand total of 3 errors in 2010-2011, Bay has only surpassed 4 errors in a season just one time – 8 with Pittsburgh in 2007.
But with his bat continuing to be a black hole years ever since signing his 4-year/$66 million deal, Collins and the Mets are better off with better offensive threats in Nieuwenhuis, Hairston and Lucas Duda seeing more playing time, giving defensive whiz Torres a chance to revitalize his offense and even finding a few innings for the likes of Mike Baxter. The money is spent and it can’t be refunded, but there’s no reason to sabotage the whole team because of it.