Fans like Spring training for couple of reasons.
For one thing, it's the start of a brand new season. Second of all, it piques their interest of watching the young prospects play.
Teams take note of the latter. They hype their young players to get fans to watch these meaningless exhibition games.
The Mets took in the act this Spring, talking about Ike Davis, Jennry Mejia, Fernando Martinez, and several others. They wanted to sell the critics on how good their much-maligned farm system is.
Sportsnet New York use the Mets prospects for their Spring Training coverage. Naturally, it excited everyone. Mejia received attention for his strong performance in March.
Everyone debated whether Mejia should start or relieve. From this seat, the 20-year-old kid should be in the minors, starting every fifth day for the Buffalo Bisons.
He will likely be a starter later this season. There's no way the Mets are trotting out an ineffective starter all season long.
John Maine did okay in his first start of the season, but it was not like he was going to give his team a chance to win the game. He gave up couple of home runs, aiding the Marlins to a 3-1 lead. He labored for most of the night.
This is not what the Mets hoped for out of their beleaguered starter.
Look for more of the same by Pelfrey and Perez when they start.
At some point, it would make sense to move their prized prospect in the rotation. How is he going to make the transition right away by being in the bullpen? He is better off getting his work over at Buffalo.
Mejia made his 2010 regular season debut tonight. He did okay.
The reliever gave up couple of hits to start the inning, and he gave up a run. He struck out Ricky Nolasco, and he got the last two outs after the Marlins scored.
Everyone can be optimistic or pessimistic with the kid. That's fine.
With that said, he may be in for some tough times this year. It's one thing to do well in March, but it's another to do well in April.
Hitters tend to slack off in March. They want to get their feel to their game back. Pitchers can have the advantage. Of course, it could also be the other way around.
Everyone should have tempered their expectations of the Mets' setup guy. He was bound to have a shaky outing. We should have not been surprised about tonight.
There's a reason why the Reds sent Aroldis Chapman and the Nationals sent Stephen Strasburg to the minors. It has nothing to do with service time. It came down to them not being ready to pitch in the majors just yet.
It's hard to think Mejia is either at this point. Why put him in a position to fail?
Odds are he could have more days like this. He did not exactly look like a world-beater out there.
It looked like he was begging to be beat. His pitches had absolutely no movement out there.
Sure, he got Ricky Nolasco out, and he was able to get the second out thanks to another bad at-bat by Cameron Maybin, who was on base via fielder's choice. With that said, those two hitters don't strike fear into anyone.
He should be getting them out. Getting good hitters out, though, is a challenge. At least he was able to get Hanley Ramirez out, and I guess that's something to be positive about.
The Mets need to win right now. Their bullpen is not a strength. The team's brass hope Mejia stabilizes the setup role. He gives them a better chance to do so than the other relievers.
With the way Fernando Nieve pitched on opening day, he would be a better option in the eighth inning. For the seventh inning, Manuel can mix and match with the other guys or he can use Pedro Feliciano.
If Manuel and Minaya had job security, it's hard to believe Mejia would be pitching right now. Minaya usually takes his time in calling up the young guys. Plus, Manuel loathes to use rookies in any situation.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. That's why there's a change of paradigm.
The last thing the Mets need is to ruin a prospect. The Yankees put Joba Chamberlain in many roles, and it has had an effect on his performance. He has turned out to be a head case.
What Mejia needs is a set role. It's hard to believe he will be in relief all season.
A pitcher is more valuable when he has the stuff of a starter. The Mets don't have any quality starters right now.
This is why one has to question the wisdom of giving Mejia a bullpen role too soon.
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