I've been able to watch most of the games this season. And I wonder about a few things concering Kaz. Maybe you guys have some opinions or knowledge.
First, I know supposedly he is/was faster to first base than Ichirro, which to me isnt true. That being the case he is supposed to be fast, why isnt he even attempting to steal bases when he gets on? I realize hitting 2nd with Reyes batting first there will be times that Jose is on and if he gets on he wont be able to steal, or even attempt. But it still concerms me.
Secondly, after not getting to see any of ST and hearing how well Kaz looked at the plate, at times he looks lost up there. Swinging at pitches that arent even close to being strikes. Now I know with the other Matsui (Hideki) he struggled with splitters, but Kaz seems to struggle with breaking balls. Which I thought was more prevalent in Japanese baseball.
And this last one is more general, but I keep hearing how "aggresive" Randolph is, but I really dont see them attempting that many more steals or being aggresive on the basepaths. I saw a game earlier this season, and I cant remember the team, but guys were tagging up at first and going to second on pop flies. To me, thats being aggresive. And I would guess we have at least 4, possibly 5 guys who could do it when they are on. Reyes, Matsui, Beltran, Wright, and Diaz.
I am happy with Diaz, and I hope he gets most of the starts in right field, or maybe left. With Mike coming back soon (I hope) and Floyd his usual injury prone self he could get a lot of playing time, not as much as a full time starting position but its a good start.
Another thing that has been a pleasant surprise is Ishii. Now I doubt Peterson has worked miracles, but dang the man is looking good out there. I have missed both of Zambrano's starts and havent seen him this year. How has he looked?
Finally the bullpen, Hernandez looks to be a great pickup so far, will he keep it up? I must also say I was glad to see Franco pitching to us, and not for us these games. Also, Aybar seems a bit wild, I know he throws hard but I think he has a tendency to overthrow. Looper seems to have recovered well from that first outing. I cant say much about DeJean, hope he gets it together. How long do you think before Heath Bell comes up and grabs a spot in the bullpen, after hearing how well he did in ST I am rather excited about that also. I've only seen Koo pitch once this year so far, but he looked good. Havent seen Heredia or Matthews yet, but I probably forgot if I did. I thought Heredia was going to get a lot of use at the start of the season.
Anyway, Go METS! I am enjoying watching the guys immensely despite some concerns I have.
Kaz's speed and base-running ability was so overhyped when he first arrived here. He's fast but nowhere near the speed demon he was heralded to be and he doesn't appear to be that smart of a base-runner which I think is key in the MLB. Maybe you can get away with it in Japan. I still think 15-20 SBs is possible but he'll never compare to Ichiro.
Kaz looked lost at the plate at times last year and then the next at-bat he'd look incredibly in control. It's early in the season still and I'm holding out hope that he will put it together and break out with the stick this year. Although I really expected him to be a better contact hitter than he is. He's more of a guess-swinger than I would have ever expected.
I think Willie has been agressive given the situation of a 5-game losing streak and the possibility of the team playing tight. Reyes in particular has really been agressive tagging up and turning singles into doubles. Now that they've evened this bad boy up I expect that they'll be more agressive.
Ishii looked great and as I'm writing this Heilman just got a CG, 1-Hit shut out of the Marlins. Good Times. Good Times.
The bullpen has looked pretty good other than Aybar. To me, Aybar looks like a failed experiment and I would imagine that he will be replaced by Bell soon.
Maine has a good swing for a pitcher but on anything that moves, he has no chance. And if it's a fastball, it has to be up in the zone. Basically, the pitcher has to hit his bat. - Mike Pelfrey
Man, can we just write Kaz off as a bust now, play Cairo everyday and get on with it. The guy has a horrible OBP for someone with speed and mediocre power....oh and he sucks, absolutely sucks in the field
Adam
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Sunday at the game Kaz was booed constantly. They even started a "We Want Cairo" chant. Kaz has a scratched cornea. I say he goes and scratches something else.
Maine has a good swing for a pitcher but on anything that moves, he has no chance. And if it's a fastball, it has to be up in the zone. Basically, the pitcher has to hit his bat. - Mike Pelfrey
Fireball Express wrote:Sunday at the game Kaz was booed constantly. They even started a "We Want Cairo" chant. Kaz has a scratched cornea. I say he goes and scratches something else.
Seriously? It's only a matter of time until he's being dropped from my fantasy team. I should have known better than to trade Brian Roberts for him preseason. And no, I'm not kidding..I really made that trade.
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by Broncmet724 » Fri Apr 15, 2005 7:01 pm 
