Yesterday, I posted the first part of my interview with Tim Marchman of the New York Sun. Here’s the 2nd part of the interview:
Andrew Beaton, Hot Foot: Mets fans seem to be worried about the fact that Ryan Church batted .229 against lefties last year. Should Church struggle against lefties throughout the spring, how do you think the Mets would address the issue? Do you see them just using players such as Damion Easley more or do you see them potentially trying to acquire a platoon option such as former Mets OF Xavier Nady?
Tim Marchman: Not only have Jose Valentin, Chris Woodward, Damion Easley, Marlon Anderson, and David Newhan played outfield for the Mets under Willie Randolph, but so have Victor Diaz and Michael Tucker, who came up as second basemen. I believe the past is predictive.
Endy Chavez actually has a bit of a reverse platoon split historically, and while Church loses about 100 points of OPS against lefties, he’s not so helpless against them that he kills the lineup. You’d probably like to see a Nady equivalent on the bench but I don’t think it matters all that much.
Andrew Beaton: Many Mets fans seem to be putting a lot of their faith on Duaner Sanchez’s surgically repaired shoulder. Do you think he is the key to the bullpen or they can succeed without him? How important do you see him in the grand scheme of the Mets potential success this year?
Tim Marchman: The only other major league pitcher who comes to mind as having broken his shoulder is Brad Radke, and he had to retire. So while I hope Sanchez has a great comeback, I wouldn’t count on it.
Andrew Beaton: Part of the reason for the Mets’ collapse was their failing bullpen effort down the stretch. Do you believe the comeback of Duaner, and the signing of Matt Wise and drafting Steven Register in the Rule V draft was sufficient to fixing the bullpen?
Tim Marchman: They probably need another arm, though I expect that whoever isn’t the no. 5 starter should be able to do the job. The talent is there, it seems to be more a matter of not using pitchers who have demonstrated they can’t retire batters, not using pitchers too often, etc.
Andrew Beaton: In an article recently titled ‘What to Expect from Maine and Perez in 2008′ you wrote, “You can root for both pitchers, but if you have to pick one, make it Maine.” Does John Maine’s 5.53 ERA after the all-star break worry you at all? Don’t you think Oliver Perez’s ceiling makes him more intriguing than Maine, who seems to have a good fastball but beyond that thrives on the fact that he pitches in a spacious park? He had a 4.39 road ERA compares to a 3.45 home ERA.
Tim Marchman: I’m not sure Perez has a higher ceiling. It certainly seems like he does, but I wonder how much of that is because he has a reputation as a harder thrower, even though he doesn’t actually throw harder. I think we all have an idea of Perez as the wild lefty who can win a Cy Young if he can tame his stuff, and an idea of Maine as a crafty righty who gets by on discipline, and that bleeds over into what we think of them relative to one another.
Basically the difference between them is their contracts. Maine isn’t even arbitration-eligible yet, and Perez is a pending free agent. That’s way, way more important than any differences in their upside, and that’s why Maine is more valuable. I don’t think 1st half/2nd half splits are all that telling, and the home/road split is partly an artifact of giving up more unearned runs at home—it’s not like there’s a drastic difference in his numbers or his approach one way or the other.
Andrew Beaton: Alright, if you had to throw a number out there, how many wins would you say they have? If you have them making the playoffs, how far do you see them going?
Tim Marchman: I predict 95 wins and a gut-wrenching loss to Boston in the Series.
Thanks so much Tim. Probably my favorite NY baseball sports writer, he’s really filled with well though out analysis. It’s really awesome to see a sports writer who cares and clearly has a strong passion for the game.
Pete Lappin (3)
