Triple A Roundup
Hmmm, looking at my previous Triple-A assessment is interesting in retrospect.

Emmett's pitching problem was basically that he'd invented a new windup in the offseason ("It looks cooler!") and was much less effective. We want back to his old fashioned (like from the 30s) high windup with his arms pumped over his head and shorter leg kick and voila! he was in the stike zone again.

Hitting was exactly the same problem we had in transitioning from Single-A to Double-A: he'd grown so much he needed a new bat. I coughed up a $100 for the extra special bat that just felt the best - 2 inches longer and half an ounce lighter. Suddenly four other kids on the Mets were borrowing Emmett's bat too. And they started hitting as well.

Also, I started wearing my lucky shoes and we had a three game winning streak to even our record at 4-4. The interesting thing about this team is that just about everybody had *something* to offer. Morgan couldn't hit a lick, but early in the season he was our go-to guy for middle relief. He'd come in and throw strikes instead of walking people and keep us in the game. Joaquin started making some very sharp plays in the field and became a very effective RBI producer in the five slot. Liam and Tony were making plays in the outfield. Dario surprised us with some plays from third, and the occasional key hit.

Emmett's hitting slump got so bad (no hits for about three games) that he got dropped in the batting order. I was very proud of him that he didn't pout about it but came back with some key hits in that game from lower in the order. (This was shortly after we got the new bat.) Emmett's pitching slowly got better too. He wasn't quite in the form he had been last year where he was pounding the strike zone relentlessly with fastballs, but he was poised and around the plate and good enough to be effective. He got moved back to leadoff.

He started hitting better, particularly with men in scoring position. Nothing exciting, just sharply hit grounders through the infield. Elliott, our manager, loves Emmett behind the plate so he often spent two or three innings back there. Which, exactly as I learned last year, was very helpful to the team, but left very little to report about Emmett's defensive prowess. He did get adept at catching foul-tip third strikes, which isn't easy. I pointed out how Jason Kendall and Mike Matheny (A's and Giants catchers, respectively) didn't so much squat as crouch. Emmett started doing that (it's *very* hard on your quads) and was soooo much more mobile behind the plate.

The Reds have the best record in Triple-A this year and we came up *just short* - losing to them in two games. Otherwise we were up and down. We'd pound one team for 20 runs and then cough up the lead in the last inning the next game while making stupid baserunning errors. Eian hit two home runs. One them was a MASSIVE shot that cleared our fence, then the 15 foot high fence of the practice diamond, landing near the pitcher's mound in the next field. The more I got to know Eian the more I liked him. He's Elliot's son and an excellent pitcher and hitter, but he's very heavy and can barely run and get around the bases. He had a bit of a chip on the shoulder as the season began but I've come to appreciate his sense of humor (and I think he appreciates mine as well now).

Reed continues to be (as JZ's mom put it while watching a game) "a very sophisticated player." It's always weird when he comes off the field, where he moves with the confidence of a tiger, and suddenly he's goofy and ten again.

The weekend tournament has made me revise my opinon of Emmett again. Last year in Double-A he was dominating toward the end of the season. This year it hasn't been that way, and with Reed on view every game I didn't really peg Emmett that high. He was good but not elite. But then Emmett turned around and was absolutely dominant in all phases during the weekend tournament. So I think I need to back up and remind myself that he's 9, playing with 10-12 year olds in Triple A for the most part. Put him back playing with his age group and he's kicking ass.

The Mets are probably a game above .500 at this point. We've got games on Friday and Sunday and that's it for the regular season. We wound up losing 5 games from an 18 game season due to rain in March. There will be a Triple-A tournament for The Mets and we'll have one last chance to show off our talent. I think we're pretty competitive with the top teams so it will depend on how our pitching comes up for the last games. Reed's slowly mastered his arm as the season went out (he throws extremely hard but has a hard time pulling it into the strike zone. When he does, it's lights out. Sort of like the young Koufax. Except Reed's a rightie.) Eian was dominant as our closing pitcher early in the season, always throwing strikes and almost throwing as hard as Reed (except when Reed really wanted to blow one by). But Eian wobbled a bit late in the season. Jallah has developed into a very good pitcher and all-around player. I'm really glad we chose him for the team. He had a bit of a reputation that kept other coaches from drafting him, but he's been splendid for us. Serious and intent and full effort. So if Emmett can take his tournament success back to the Mets for their last games we could be formidable.