SB Nation User Blog: Maine Man

MLB 2K8.. Could It Be This Bad?

Maine Man — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:21:50 -0000

I was so pumped to get the game.. I've been waiting for the last 2-3 months to get it.. I hear all the great things about having the minor leagues, all the things they fixed/added..

Now all of a sudden they made pitching RETARTED. I really can't grasp the concept, if anyone wants to explain it please do, because I can't get it..

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Quick: Who Do You Take With The 4th Pick

Maine Man — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:53:17 -0000

So my draft is about to starting in like 12 minutes, and I have the 4th pick in the draft.. Since I'm drafting with Mets fans I figure the first 3 picks to be A-Rod, Hanley/Wright, Reyes

If I'm left to pick between

Holliday, Wright, Pujols, Rollins, utley who do I take?

Normal yahoo rules............................................................................................... .................................................................................................... .................................................................................................... ..

Poll

Who is the better fantasy player?

Rollins

15 votes

Utley

32 votes

Holliday

6 votes

Wright

46 votes

Pujols

49 votes

148 votes | Poll has closed

Your Mock Draft

Maine Man — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 03:41:10 -0000

Lets say your in a regular yahoo fantasy baseball

league, 12 people in the league.

How do you think the first 2 rounds (24 picks)

will look?

I think the hardest picks are at #3-5

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Question About Johan Santana

Maine Man — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:52:47 -0000

Sorry if it's a bit off topic, but I was just wondering if it was true that Johan stopped throwing his slider in the second half..

Is there any reason why?

and what do you expect from him in the upcoming season

LETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METSLETS GO METS

Poll

How Many Games Will Johan Santana Win?

14-15

6 votes

20+

49 votes

18-19

38 votes

16-17

26 votes

119 votes | Poll has closed

Fernando Martinez Prospect Ranking Question

Maine Man — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:31:36 -0000

Keith Law list Fernando Martinez as the 10th best prospect in baseball, while Kevin Goldstein ranked him the 51st best prospect in baseball.. Ken Rosenthal recently talked about Fernando Martinez being a "teenage hitting machine" So why the big difference in these lists?

I don't know much about Law/Goldstein but I would have to guess that Goldstein thought process is that just because he played in AA as a 18 year old doesn't mean he's a top prospect. I would think that Goldstein is looking for players who have produced more so in the minors, then just talent/ceiling..

Then on the other hand I could see Keith Law thought process being that this kid held his own in AA at an extremely young age, and has a lot of projection..

Where do I think F-Mart belongs? I would say he belongs around 25th just because he hasn't exactly hit like a beast yet.. I'll be waiting to see where scout.com, and baseball america ranks Fernando Martinez..

Where would you guys rank F-Mart, and what can you tell me about the way Goldstein/Law rank prospects?

Poll

Where Does Fernando Martinez Belong On Prospect Lists?

81-90

1 votes

41-50

17 votes

91-100

6 votes

1-10

19 votes

51-60

5 votes

11-20

37 votes

61-70

6 votes

21-30

38 votes

71-80

0 votes

31-40

23 votes

152 votes | Poll has closed

Higher Ceiling Gomez Or Ellsbury?

Maine Man — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:22:08 -0000

I've been recently debating with a Red Sox fan who said the Mets package of Santana has no true star potential in it..

I countered with Gomez has a higher ceiling the Ellsbury, but he doesn't seem to believe it..

Gomez has the potential to be a true 5 tool player, the highest Ellsbury will be is a 3 tool player.. It's Gomez's body type, and bat speed that gives him the ceiling of a 30 homerun hitter..

Now obviously if I had to choose one I'd pick Ellsbury, because he's the much safer pick.. But if we're debating ceilings I would have to think that Gomez's ceiling is much higher then that of Ellsbury..

Poll

Who Has The Higher Ceiling?

Ellsbury

104 votes

Gomez

196 votes

300 votes | Poll has closed

Deolis Guerra

Maine Man — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 17:58:46 -0000

What do you think about his future??

here's a scouting report from baseball america..

Strengths: Guerra has two present above-average pitches that could become well above-average. His fastball had below-average velocity for most of his first season, but now it ranges from 89-94 mph and touches 96. He features excellent arm speed on his changeup, his best offering since he signed, and it should become a big league out pitch once he commands it.

Weaknesses: While Guerra's curveball remains a below-average pitch, he has shown an ability to spin the ball and it projects as an average offering. At 18, Guerra still is learning the finer arts of pitching, such as holding runners, fielding his position and pitch sequences.

The Future: Guerra has thrown just 179 pro innings and has plenty of projection in his big-shouldered frame. The Mets have monitored Guerra's workload carefully, and he has plenty of projection in his big-shouldered frame. His next goal will be to stay healthy and pass the 100-inning level.

~I love the kid.. Not to many 18 year olds are 6'6 200 pounds topping out at 96 MPH... I think pre-season 2009 he'll be a top 10 prospect in baseball, but that's just me.. The kid is an absolute beast..

Will Mike Pelfrey Finally Be Ready?

Maine Man — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:19:40 -0000

metsprospectus.blogspot.com

Mike Pelfrey has kind of a weird story... The guy was highly touted out of college, and one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, until the Mets got their hands on him. After a bullpen session with Rick Peterson, Mike Pelfrey ditched his curveball in favor of a slider that he never threw before. If you talk to people who watched Mike in college they'll tell you he had a plus MLB ready curveball in college.. So if that's the case why would Rick tell him to get rid of it? Well if you remember Rick also made John Maine ditch his curveball, so it's more of Peterson's teaching technique. He likes a hard thrower to stay down in the zone, and he thinks the best pitch to complement that is a slider..

Ok Rick, you've been right so many times that I have to trust you here, your the pitching coach you know what's best. But why would the Mets call the kid up to the major leagues when he hasn't been throwing his slider for more then half a season in the minors? The truth is the Mets set Mike Pelfrey up for failure. They took at 22 year old kid with less then 100 innings in the minors, who had a good fastball, no slider, no changeup, and told him we need you to get big league hitters out.

Really why did we expect anything from Mike Pelfrey? It was the hype, the media, they all led us to believe that Mike Pelfrey could come up here and fill the hole we needed in a #5 starter. But the truth was he wasn't even ready to be pitching in AAA when he made his debut in the big leagues in August 2006.

He may of only had one pitch, but the kid had so much talent that he was able to get by in his 4 major league starts in 2006. He might of just been pumping fastballs, but he still gave the Mets quality starts they weren't getting from the likes of Jose Lima.

The Mets sent Mike Pelfrey to the AFL to further work on his slider, but unfortunately he had some arm pain, and was forced to leave. So come spring training 2007, the #5 spot in the rotation was up for grabs, and Mike Pelfrey was the favorite. Mike looked great early on in spring, he was a ground ball machine and showed good poise. Eventually he won the spot, and the Mets went into the season with Mike Pelfrey as their #5 starter.

It didn't last long for Mike as he lost his job in early June, after starting the season 0-7. He had some flashes of looking good, along with some games that he probably should of won, but overall he was to inconsistent, and at times couldn't even control his fastball.

After spending a short time in the bullpen, the Mets sent the 23 year old to AAA to refine his pitches. In his time in AAA he posted an ERA of 4.58 in 37 IP. Ok I know that's a pretty high ERA, but he was probably working on his slider, and changeup right? Nope reports that I heard about early on was he was still throwing mostly fastballs, especially when he got into tight spots. I wanna know why Mike Pelfrey is worrying about his stats in New Orleans. This was supposed the be the place where he could just keep throwing his slider, and changeup not worrying about the outcome.

The Mets needed a starting pitcher to face the Braves on September 1st, and Pelfrey shocked the world. Pelfrey allowed one hit in six innings while striking out 7 to win his first game of the season after seven losses. His slider was on that game, and we got a glimpse of what he could be like if he could control it. But we also saw after that what happens when he can't control his slider, as he gave up 10 hits in 5.1 innings against the Astros (though he got away with only giving up 2 runs) His last start of the season was against Washington in a big game he gave up 6 ERA in 5.2 innings.

So now going forwards it seems like the Mets will stand pat with the rotation, and again the #5 spot is up for grabs. Guess who the favorite is.. Mike Pelfrey! Mike will be just 24 years old, and will have a year and a half under his belt with his slider. Hopefully Mike is working hard this winter, and hopefully he'll finally be ready to be an MLB pitcher. He has the talent and the potential he just has to put it together now, and I think 2008 is the season he does it.

SPAMM

Maine Man — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:01:44 -0000

Really this is getting out of control.. the other threads are getting pushed off the front page, because this one guy wants to do all these polls right after each other.. Give it a day then go to the next one.. stop flooding the diaries.

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Poll

Should He Wait A Day Before Posting A new Prospect Rating?

Yes

57 votes

No

43 votes

100 votes | Poll has closed

Mets Reject Twins Offer

Maine Man — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 22:10:03 -0000

So it seems the Mets and Twins were going back and forth to come up with a package for Santana..

Omar put his offer on the table that was GOMEZ, and 3 starting pitchers.. My guess

Gomez,Pelfrey,Humber,Mulvey

Then the Twins countered that offer saying the Mets must add either Fernando Martinez or another pitching prospect.. My guess Deolis Guerra..

I'm kind of happy this trade didn't happen..