Hello friends, welcome on back. Spring training is inching closer and closer, just a mere number of days away now! And as we all know, the primary purpose of spring training is to shake off all that rust accumulated over the offseason, clean out the cobwebs now during these meaningless practice games, and make sure your game is in tip top shape and ready to roll when Opening Day arrives.
However, another fun aspect to the spring training spectacle is the competition between 2 or more players in an attempt to win a roster spot. It’s always been fun for me to keep track of those players’ spring statistics over the month of March. And as long as the deserving player gets the job in the end – none of that nepotism nonsense – it’s all very entertaining. That is, as long as the competition is for a less than relevant job. But competitions at the first base and catching slots? Competitions for not one, but TWO spots in our starting lineup? Possibly more when you factor in who exactly is going to be Carlos Beltran’s replacement for the first month plus of 2010. Yikes!
In all honesty, I can deal with the 5th starter competition the Mets will be holding during spring training 2010. Not that he’s unimportant, but the 5th starter is generally there to just clog up the end of the rotation and to give the rest of rotation one extra day to rest before it’s their turn to tow the rubber. It’s nice to have a moderately known name as your 5th starter, but teams can more or less get by with a guy who is just a little better than .500. This spring, the competitors fighting for that final Mets rotation spot will be Jon Niese, Fernando Nieve, Josh Fogg, Pat Misch, Nelson Figueroa, and newly signed Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. These guys are not going to be expected to win 12+ games. Would it be nice? Of course, but I won’t hold anything against them if they don’t. The only expectation I really have out of whoever winds up winning is that he throws consistently tolerable ballgames, keeping the team in it long enough to try and pull out a W. No Santana-like dominance is necessary.
As for the final bench spot, another competition the Mets will likely be holding, well let’s just say this guy is lucky to even have a job in the majors. They don’t call him the 25th man on the roster for nothing! And competitions for little jobs like that are the ones that spring training competitions should be used for. But, as things stand now, and I don’t expect a whole lot to change at this point in the winter, the first base and catcher slots aren’t exactly set in stone. That bothers me a little bit. You can get by with a mediocre bench guy, and a .500 5th starter. First base and catcher? These are guys that will be seeing action everyday! I want these guys to be the best we can possibly get. And looking at this spring’s competitors, the outlook isn’t entirely promising.
At first base, it will be Daniel Murphy, Fernando Tatis, Mike Jacobs, and Ike Davis competing for not only the starting job, but one of them will likely land the backup job as well. Ike Davis, well I feel he needs to be in AAA. This is one exception where I will accept nepotism. No matter how great he performs, he needs to get some more work down in the minors. So first base projects as more of a 3 horse race. And um, Murphy, Tatis, and Jacobs all look more like bench guys than they do starters, maybe Murphy is a tad above that. Not very inspiring… And at catcher, the quartet of Omir Santos, Henry Blanco, Chris Coste, and newly inked Shawn Riggans will be duking it out for the starter and backup jobs. Again, all 4 of these guys come off as backups. Too see one of them playing 110-120 games this season, well it doesn’t exactly give me all the confidence in the world here. I’m sorry, it just simply doesn’t.
So, competition in spring training can be a lot of fun. However, when it’s a spot as relevant as 1st base, or the catcher? Not so much in my opinion. Save the bouts for smaller roles on the team, like last year’s 5th starter competition that Livan Hernandez wound up winning. These big role competitions make me nervous, and a little wary about their chances to succeed playing every day. I’m not a fan of spring training competition on that kind of level.
What do you guys think? Do you like also like spring training competitions? Do you like them when they’re more low level, or are you cool with the Mets holding major competitions for prime spots such as 1st base and catcher? Reveal your opinions below, and as always my dear fans, thanks for stopping by to read!
