Thermodynamic Pitchers: We Got ‘Em

The acquisition of Duke grad Chris Capuano, along with the pursuit of Princeton’s Chris Young, to join erudite hurler R.A. Dickey on the Mets pitching staff this year has sparked some discussion about the Mets’ potential to lead the Majors next year in Cogitations Above Replacement and Earned Degree Average. Although this wouldn’t mark the first time the Mets had a brainiac in the bullpen.

Original Met Jay Hook was the Mets first wearer of the No. 47 jersey. He studied mechanical engineering at Northwestern University and understood the physics of the curve ball. When he explained it to the New York Times he became something of a sensation and was contacted by a company then known as Sarcotherm Controls, a manufacturer of steam traps and other industrial temperature control products based in New York. Sarco contracted Hook to expand on his ideas in a quarterly magazine it distributed to its customers. Don’t ask why, but my dad happened to acquire a copy, and saved the cover and an inside page, displayed below:

Jay’s illustrations of the physics phenomenon known as Bernoulli’s Principle (it would take a scientist to explain) would famously come back and bite him when after a bad outing weeks later Casey Stengel remarked “It’s wonderful that he knows how a curveball works. Now if he could only throw one.”

Capuano, by the way, wore No. 39 in Milwaukee, but that number belongs to Bobby Parnell today.  In honor of Hook, we’d like to remind the Mets that 47 is available.

Sarco still exists, sort of too.

Pick a Number

Happy Holidays! I just finished a busy stretch with work etc. and am celebrating my first morning off with the first numerical roster of the 2011 season. As you’ll see below, there are plenty of vacancies as well as unassigned players at this point, and at least one seeming controversy: 40-man rosteree Tobi Stoner and first baseman Ike Davis are both listed as wearing No. 29, though as reported here frequently we’d be surprised if Davis is not wearing the newly sprung No. 20 when the games begin.

Unassigned players on the 40-man roster:

Manny Alvarez, P
Pedro Beato, P
D.J. Carrasco, P
Armando Rodriguez, P
Josh Stinson, P
Tobi Stoner, P
Ronny Paulino, C
Brad Emaus, INF
Zach Lutz, INF
Jordanny Valdespin, INF
Dave Hudgens, hitting coach
Mookie Wilson, first base coach
Ken Oberkfell, bench coach
Jon Debus, bullpen coach

Current numerical roster:

1 Luis Castillo, 2B
2 Justin Turner, 2B
3 Luis Hernandez, INF
4 Vacant (was Henry Blanco, who signed with Arizona)
5 David Wright, 3B
6 Nick Evans, OF
7 Jose Reyes, SS
8 Vacant
9 Vacant (was Omir Santos, who signed a minor league deal with Detroit)
10 Terry Collins, manager
11 Ruben Tejada, INF
12 Vacant (was Joaquin Arias)
13 Mike Nickeas, C
14 Retired
15 Carlos Beltran, OF
16 Angel Pagan, OF
17 Vacant (was Fernando Tatis)
18 Ryota Igarashi, P
19 Vacant (was Mike Hessman, who will become a superstar with the Orix Buffalos of Japan)
20 Vacant (was Howard Johnson, reassigned hitting coach)
21 Lucas Duda, OF
22 Vacant (was Raul Valdes, who signed a minor league deal with St. Louis)
23 Vacant (was Chris Carter, non-tendered)
24 Vacant
25 Vacant (was Pedro Feliciano, allegedly on the brink of signing with the Yankees)
26 Fernando Martinez, OF
27 Vacant (was Jesus Feliciano, free agent)
28 Daniel Murphy, 1B-2B-OF
29 Ike Davis, 1B
30 Josh Thole, C
31 Vacant
32 Jenrry Mejia, P
33 Vacant (was John Maine, nontendered)
34 Mike Pelfrey, P
35 Dillon Gee, P
36 Manny Acosta, P
37 Retired
38 Vacant (was Fernando Nieve, who signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh)
39 Bobby Parnell, P
40 Vacant (was Eddie Kunz, no longer on 40-man roster)
41 Retired
42 Retired
43 R.A. Dickey, P
44 Jason Bay, OF
45 Vacant
46 Oliver Perez, P
47 Vacant (was Hisanori Takahashi, who signed with Angels)
48 Pat Misch, P
49 Jon Niese, P
50 Vacant (was Sean Green, who signed with Milwaukee)
51 Chip Hale, 3rd base Coach
52 Vacant (was first-base coach Razor Shines, not retained)
53 Vacant (was manager Jerry Manuel, not retained)
54 Vacant? (roster still lists Dave Racaniello, Bullpen Catcher)
55 Vacant (was Randy Niemann, Bullpen Coach, not retained)
56 Vacant (was Dave Jauss, Bench Coach, not retained)
57 Johan Santana, P
58 Vacant
59 Dan Warthen, pitching coach
60-63 Vacant
64 Vacant (was Elmer Dessens, free agent)
65-74 Vacant
75 Francisco Rodriguez, P
76-91 Vacant
92 Jason Pridie, OF

Flying Coach

The Mets on Monday named a pack of coaches to accompany new manager Terry Collins, including newcomers Jon Debus (bullpen coach); Ken Oberkfell (bench coach) and Dave Hudgens (hitting coach) and a returnee, first-base coach Mookie Wilson. They join returning third-base coach Chip Hale and pitching coach Dan Warthen. Do any of these men speak Spanish?

Uniform numbers have yet to be assigned to these guys but let’s start with the obvious: If the Mets can manage to get rid of Luis Castillo then No. 1 would be available for Mookie. The Mookster wore No. 51 as a coach in 1997 before No. 1 became available to him, and 51 most recently belonged to Mook’s cross-diamond counterpart, Chip Hale. So there’s some drama whatever happens.

I’m intrigued by the possibility of Ken Oberkfell donning No. 0, as he did when I snapped the above photo a few spring trainings ago. The idea of his being a foil and aide-de-camp for Collins wearing No. 10 makes sense, and if Mookie gets No. 1, well that’s even better. I have no idea and no real opinion on what numbers Hudgens and Debus show up in but it wouldn’t surprise me if they show up in 52 and 53 like Met coaches often do.

G*ddamn That DJ Made My Day

77The Mets today bought a whole new battery at the Winter Meetings in Orlando: Catcher Ronny Paulino and reliever D.J. Carrasco, both nontendered, and former Pirates. Carrasco is a late bloomer and veteran of four big-league clubs with a goofy delivery and even goofier uni number — 77 with both the Pirates and Diamondbacks. A cursory check turned up no great stories about this odd choice, though it should be noted he was born in 1977 and Pittsburgh, where he began to wear those digits, has a reputation for issuing unusually high numbers to some players. The Mets have never had a 77 despite my plea that they give it to Kazuo Matsui in 2004, which could have changed everything.

Paulino came up with the Pirates wearing No. 56 then 26, and spent the last two seasons wearing No. 29 in Florida. He was busted last summer for PED use and seems to have gotten fat since he was lusted after by a young Omar Minaya back in the oughts, but on the plus side he’d appear a decent selection to platoon with Josh Thole.
The Mets this week also invited infielder Russ Adams, catcher Dusty Ryan, and pitcher Michael O’Connor to camp with minor league deals, and appear to be positioned for a pick or two during the Rule 5 draft. There’s stil a chance — and in my opinion, a good argument — to try and move Carlos Beltran before we endure another season of uncertainty in the outfield, but such a deal seems like a longshot. Reports also suggest the Mets will try and score a starting pitcher — if not this week, then when the unsigned guys get anxious in January — but so far the New Brass seems not to have misled anyone as to their modest goals for the winter.

In the meantime it appears that the Mets careers of Sean Green, Pedro Feliciano, Chris Carter and Henry Blanco are over. We hope maybe Felicano comes back sometime and tries on a fourth uni number — he was 55, 39 and 25 on his way to becoming an unlikely long-tenured and really quite excellent Met. But I don’t much believe in sustainability from short relievers and approve almost whatever churning gets done year to year.

Strawberry Fields Forever

Terry Collins pretty much spoiled the idea of returning to wear No. 1 once he invoked the name of Jim Leland, but it doesn’t mean Luis Castillo is in the clear yet. Newspapers last week were speculating that Mookie Wilson would be named to fill the vacant first-base coaching job — and maintain the proper quota of 1986 laborers in continuing employ with the Mets as stipulated in a secret contract somewhere.

No seriously, Mookie’s a perfect guy for the job — let’s face it, Mookie’s perfect for about any job — so let’s hope it happens, and happens in his customary No. 1. Though real Mookologists know he wore another number — 51 — during his first tenure as a first-base coach under Bobby Valentine in 1997, accommodating Lance Johnson at least until Johnson was traded to the Cubs that August. The Met Braintrust also intends to name an outside choice as hitting coach, a good idea since the Mets have never really developed any hitters of their own beyond David Wright, who already has a job, and, of course,  my close personal friend Darryl Strawberry.

Darryl you might know has a new restaurant out in Douglaston, which was where I ran into him a few weeks ago. Literally: I exited the Men’s room and there he was across the narrow hallway at the entrance to the kitchen. Though I was expecting a destination type place typical of jock establishments, Strawberry’s Sports Grill is really a neighborhood joint on a deadend street across from a LIRR station in bucolic Douglaston, itself resembling a North Shore Nassau County town. It’s loaded with memorabilia from Straw’s career including the Mets locker pictured above but plenty of Yankee stuff from his time there. I guess that’s just a business decision. Times are tough in the restaurant business these days.

The wings were sports-bar acceptable, the “1961” burger was pretty good despite the Yankee affiliation, and the bartender was terrific. But our server was kinda slow and surly if you want to know the truth. Some locals mentioned that the site had been though several incarnations before Darryl took the reigns, and if I weren’t terrified and stammering idiotic things like “Thanks!” over and over again to him during our brief meeting, I’d probably mention it to him — that and get him to remark on the significance of No. 18. I had a chance to touch the man’s shoulder as I turned him for the photo (thanks Greg!) and can report it’s massive and as firm as a car seat.

In summary, Darryl’s not the next hitting coach even though he’s a former 1986er, and you should get a beer and a burger at Strawberry’s while it’s still standing.

Torborgian Debut for Terry

10Terry Collins meets the press wearing the No. 10 jersey. If the Mets can somehow throw Luis Castillo overboard before opening day I could see him switching to his customary No. 1, otherwise, he’d be the second Mets manager to wear No. 10 and the first since Jeff Torborg donned it in 1992 and 1993. Just examining those parallels at a time like this is enough to scare you so I won’t.

Um, Good luck, Terry!

Update: Terry says he is wearing No. 10 as a tribute to Jim Leland, who gave Collins his start in the Pirates organization. “Plus my wife thinks I’m a 10.” 

Me and Terry Became Friends

As a friend said, Terry Collins may have been fifth on my list of the final four candidates to become the next Mets manager but now that he is, I guess we owe him a shot. He’s got some admirers among the bright minds of the Mets front office, he was a finalist the last time they held these interviews, and his teams in two previous stops have performed pretty well if not ended that way. We’ll wait for the press conference Tuesday to comfirm it, but I’d expect they have him appear in the No. 1 jersey, even though it currently belongs to Luis Castillo.

Hale to the Chief

51I’ve given it some thought, and if there’s a downside to Chip Hale‘s potential ascendacy to Mets manager it’s that the team would be left trying to replace its best third base coach in years. Seriously. We’ve seen Razor Shines and Sandy Alomar Sr. sentence dozens of rallies to die at home plate, and others to never start, as they got too lazy, overexcited or panicy. It’s a difficult job requiring concentration, awareness and flash decision-making under pressure, knowledge of the players and of the enemy, the nerve to be aggressive when warranted and the courage to put up the stop sign. Chip Hale demonstrated he was better than most that we’ve seen.

Bobby Valentine was an excellent third-base coach for the Mets and of course eventually became a hell of a manager. I’m thinking now that if the new brass values a bright guy in charge (and they do) they could do worse than Hale, whose ascendancy to the Final Four has already overcome a lack of name recognition, Major League managing experience and strong Met ties. He probably does however have more intimate knowledge of many of the ballplayers on this team now, and would probably work for less than his co-candidates. I also like the idea of a guy who could become a good manager while managing the Mets, the way Davey Johnson did.

Walter William “Chip” Hale has six years of managerial experience with the Diamondbacks organization, culminating in a Manager of the Year coronation in 2006 with the Tucson Sidewinders of the Pacific Coast League, who won more games than any minor-league team that year. He is credited with helping shepherd Conor Jackson, Carlos Quentin, Stephen Drew and Chris Young to the big leagues. His Major League coaching experience came under co-candidate Bob Melvin in Arizona: I wonder if the parties would be amenable to Melvin bench-coaching for Hale.

Hale wore No. 51, like a good coach should, for the Mets last year but I tend to favor managers with enough juice to wear their own digits if possible. Hale wore No. 4 most often as a ballpllayer but also suited up in 58, 12 and 5. His big-league career consisted of utility infield roles with the Twins and Dodgers. His best skill appeared to be the ability to take a walk.

What About Bob?

Ladies and gentlemen, Bob Melvin.

3I guess there’s something about the dorky, anonymous name, and the fact that he played major league baseball for a decade and never made any impression on me I could recall, and the fact that he’s a former Manager of the Year but I can’t distinguish him from Doug Melvin (no relation; the Mariners’ GM), not to mention Bob Brenly, Bruce Bochy and Bruce Botche: They’re all former catchers, broadcasters, managers, or all three.

There was a time I conflated Jerry Manuel and Charlie Manuel, but I don’t make that mistake anymore.

Clint Hurdle reportedly been hired away by Pittsburgh, so it’s looking like Melvin and Terry Collins are the finalists for the Mets managing job. If Hurdle is the cheerleader and Collins the fiery taskmaster, Melvin is the thoughtful temperature-taker whose good moments draw comparisons to player’s managers like Joe Torre. His strategic rep in Seattle and Arizona took some hits likely as a result of acting on those whims, but the numbers indicate he wasn’t a terrible strategic manager overall. Players liked him.

Melvin is also the most likely of the three to one day be identified as a Mets manager; he’s the youngest and his lack of a brand indicates a potential still to grow. A vanilla personality might not go over for a fanbase wishing for Bobby Valentine‘s mad charisma or Wally Backman‘s brand of dirtbag, but for better or worse it sounds as if he’s got both of them beaten already. Could Collins be tougher? Or a fan/media set having the same trouble figuring out who he is?

Melvin wore eight different uniform numbers for seven different teams as a player, suiting up most often in No. 2 for the Orioles. As a manager, he wore No. 3 with both the Mariners and Diamondbacks.

Clearing the Hurdle

13Clint Hurdle was a one-time “Phenom” of the Kansas City Royals but inconsistent play, insufficient power and probably, a few too many beers (read the extraordinary SI article for details), relegated him to journeyman status by age 25 when he hooked up with the Mets. Hurdle appeared with the Mets in 1983 (wearing No. 33), 1985 (when he wore No. 13) and 1987 (wearing No. 7). Although his contributions with the Mets were modest, the Mets and manager Davey Johnson liked him quite a bit: when he was lost to the Cardinals on a Rule 5 pick in ’86, Johnson was so upset he reportedly cried. The Mets in fact liked Hurdle so much they got him started on the road to managership shortly after he retired: He managed Met farm clubs for 6 years then was hired by the expansion Rockies, for whom he became manager in 2002.

Aside from an extraordinary 21-1 run that vaulted the Rockies all the way to the 2007 World Series, Hurdle’s career in Colorado was remarkable mainly for its length. He is the only manager in major league history to begin his career with five consecutive losing seasons and not get fired. His ability to hang on, many say, was due to a willingness to take bullets for the front office, and for his personal charm. I’ve always enjoyed his guest turns on Mets Extra when the Rockies visited. He wore No. 13 throughout his tenure in Denver.

Those who’ve studied his managerial tendencies have not been impressed, noting an adherance character-building but ultimately witless strategies like the sacrifice bunt. Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times suggests Hurdle’s most striking tendency as manager “is that he has arguably done the worst job picking batters for the No. 1 slot of any manager in the last half century where the data exist.” After enduring five years of bunt-happy, passive baseball under Jerry Manuel and Willie Randolph, I am sure a change would be welcome.

But if Hurdle’s malleability and charisma can trump his tendency to botch strategy, he might not be a bad choice for the Alderson-led Mets. He evidently is among the finalists.