@ Buffalo Bisons 4, SWB Yankees 3 (7 innings)
SWB Yankees 4, @ Buffalo Bisons 1 (7 innings)

The Bisons, at 1-5 in their last six games, have now slipped into third place in the wild card hunt, 4.5 games out of a playoff spot with five games to play.  That’s too bad.
In game one, 2B Justin Turner (.315/.378/.482 – pictured) was 3-4 with a double and a home run, his second straight game with a two-bagger and a blast.  He’s two months younger than Joaquin Arias, has shown more pop at AAA and more patience.  He deserves a chance in September.  If Reyes doesn’t make it back, there should be enough AB to go around.  If not, well, it’ll be an interesting look at organizational priorities.

CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis was 3-3 in game two.  The 23-year old has struggled to a .214/.287/.327 line with 33 strikeouts in his first 25 games in AAA.  Sure, guys can have bad months, but it’s also a pretty good reminder that AAA really is a tougher level than AA.  The strikeouts are the most alarming.  I calculate his BABIP at .308 right now, so he hasn’t been terribly unlucky, he just hasn’t been putting the ball in play enough.  I don’t want to make too much of 98 at bats, but fans have to realize that at this point, he can’t be part of the Mets plans for next year and despite his impressive .289/.337/.510 performance in AA, he still has things to work on in AAA.

Game 2, Josh Stinson: 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 2 HR.  Bah.

AA: Binghamton Mets 6, Portland Sea Dogs 5
After taking an 0-3 on Wednesday, 2B Jordany Valdespin is down to .225/.231/.292 in 22 games in AA with one walk and 19 strikeouts.  The 22-year old is headed for the Arizona Fall League this year.  As Adam Rubin noted in his weekly farm report at ESPNNY, “Mets officials hoped to send 2008 first-round pick Reese Havens to the Arizona Fall League, but the second baseman continues to see doctors for persistent oblique injuries and is not expected to be ready to participate.” So, now it’s Valdespin, who’s struggling at AA.
1B Josh Satin, who the Mets moved to first to make room for Valdespin, homered Wednesday.  Satin might not have Valdespin’s speed or hops, but unlike Valdespin, the 25-year old Satin has shown he can hit AA pitching going .311/.399/.487 for Binghamton in 73 games.

The Portland Sea Dogs became the latest Eastern League team to beat up on Robert Carson (1-6, 8.74)  in a 6-7 B-Mets loss on Monday night.  Carson gave up seven runs for the second-straight start: 5 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 with a WP and HBP.  Carson has made nine starts in AA and has allowed at least four runs in all but one.  After a 9.61 ERA in four July starts, he’s run a 8.06 ERA in August.

I expected the 20-year old Carson to have trouble initially at AA.  I just didn’t see the numerical indicators (K/9>1, K/B >2/5) at advanced-A that suggested he was ready for AA.  I didn’t think that he was going to get abused all summer long.  Check his July/August splits.  Do you see anything to get excited about?  His home run has dropped from obscene to “high.”  Nope, that’s not it.

Meanwhile, while Mark Cohoon has made the adjustment.  The Mets made the aggressive decision to promote Cohoon directly from the South Atlantic League directly to AA Binghamton coming out of the SAL All-Star Break.  And Cohoon had trouble initially.  In his first seven starts, he only threw six innings once, and that came in a start when he gave up six runs.
In August, he’s given up two earned runs or fewer in every single one of his five starts and has thrown six or seven in four of five starts.  As he did in the South Atlantic League, he has not walked anyone and he’s missing enough bats.  He’s a lefty with tremendous feel and his success has become hard to ignore.

Thursday was ugly for the full-season teams.

AAA: @ Syracuse Chiefs 5, Buffalo Bisons 4 (14 innings)
LF Lucas Duda, 1B Nick Evans and CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis were a combined 1-19.  Seven of Nieuwenhuis’s 14 hits in AAA have gone for extra-bases, but overall he’s at .197/.278/.338 with 21 strikeouts in 80 plate appearances, a K% of 26.25%.  The 0-6 takes Duda down to .311/.385/.623 in AAA.
Russ Adams, who will turn 30 next Monday was 3-4 with a solo home run  and three walks to lift his season line to .276/.340/.488.

AA: @ Reading Phillies 5, Binghamton Mets 0
Jordany Valdespin’s (.274/.286/.355) first inning double was the B-Mets only hit.
Eric Beaulac’s AA was predictably rough: 5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

A+: Game 1: @ Bradenton Marauders 10, St. Lucie Mets 1
Game 2: @ Bradenton Maruaders 4, St. Lucie Mets 1
Brad Holt (2-8, 7.15): 2 IP, 2 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, HR, 2 HBP.  The home run Holt allowed was a first inning grand slam.  The only other hit he allowed was a two-run triple in the second.  The gory numbers in St. Lucie this year: 56.2 IP, 58 H, 48 R, 46 BB, 50 K.
Last week, I talked to Mets pitching coordinator Rick Waits about Holt.
Here’s Waits on Holt:
“I think he’s looking much better… The big thing is that his velocity is back.  He’s back up to 94, and occasionally will hit 95.  He’s pitching at 92-93.  We weren’t seeing that all the time in Binghamton.”
When I ranked Holt as the #3 prospect in the Mets system two years ago, (oops) he was sitting 93-95 in Brooklyn.  As we’ve discussed before in this space, Holt’s velo bounced around in AA this year.  However, I think we’re at a point with Holt where his problems go far beyond fastball velocity to something much bigger.

Scott Moviel (2-7, 5.77) started in game two, and gave four runs on six hits in four innings.  On the plus side, Nick Carr tossed a few innings of scoreless relief.

SS Wilmer Flores (.298/.322/.416) was 2-3 with a double, his 15th in the FSL and 33rd this year.   He walked once in 29 games in July which is almost amazing and 5 times in 23 games in August, so hey, the walk rate’s moving up.  Any progress is good progress and this has been a big year for the 19-year old who’s established himself as the Mets top young hitter.

AAA: Pawtucket Red Sox 8, @ Buffalo Bisons 3 (10 innings)

Josh Reddick’s grand slam in the top of the tenth, his fourth home run in the last three games, finished off the Bisons in this one.  The good news for the Bisons is that Columbus lost as well, so Buffalo remains two games out of a playoff spot.
Nick Evans (.308/.388/.582) was 3-4 with a triple and a walk.
CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who was 0-5, is hitting .215/.292/.369 in his first 16 games in AAA.
Mike Harrington blames the first base ump.

AA: New Britain Rock Cats 8, Binghamton Mets 6

Robert Carson (1-5, 8.26) is really having trouble in AA.  Wednesday’s damage: 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K.  In 40.1 innings at AA, the 21-year old has given up 57 hits, 20 walks and struck out 23, so there’s nothing in the peripherals to get excited about.
2B Jordany Valdespin (.276/.288/.345) was 2-4.  The 22-year old has drawn one walk in his first 14 games in AA.  Zach Lutz and Sean Ratliff each added two hits as well.

AAA: Pawtucket Red Sox 7, @ Buffalo Bisons 3
- CF Josh Reddick, who went deep twice off Dillon Gee on Monday, was 5-5 with a bomb on Tuesday.
- LF Lucas Duda was 2-4 with a pair of doubles.  Pick your own adjective to describe his .325/.395/.650 line in 62 AAA games.  Modest is not a good choice.  Monstrous would do.  Awesome, in the original, inspiring awe sense, works fine.  By the way, he’s up to 38 doubles and 63 extra base hits this year in 107 games against just 75 strikeouts.  See you in bigs the either on September 1, or the day the Bisons are eliminated from the playoffs or playoff contention, whichever comes last.
- Michael Antonini (1-2, 4.50): 8 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR

AA
Game 1: @ Binghamton Mets 8, New Britain Rock Cats 1 (7 innings)
Game 2: @ Binghamton Mets 7, New Britain Rock Cats 0 (7 innings)

- We’ll go out of chronological order here in deference to Jenrry Mejia (2-0, 1.32), who threw seven shutout innings for the second straight start.  He held the Rock Cats to three hits and three walks while striking out seven.  One could nitpick at the walks, but the bottom line is that he’s dominating AA as a 20-year old.  In August: 1.13 ERA, 24 IP, 15 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 10 BB, 21 K.  I fully expect him to be starting games for the big Mets in September.  If Mejia stays on normal rest, he’ll start twice more before the end of the B-Mets season and will be full rest by September 8th.  The Mets are off on the 9th and begin a 10-game homestand against the Phillies, Pirates and Braves on September 10.  I’d guess that an injury will be the only thing preventing Mejia from starting during that homestand.

- In game one, Sean Ratliff (.338/.381/.632) announced his return to the B-Mets’ lineup with a 1-2 game that included his 16th home run in AA and a pair of walks.  He followed that up by going 2-3 with a pair of doubles in the nightcap.  He was clearly very rusty.

- LHP Mark Cohoon in game 1: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.  He’s figuring out AA.  After struggling through his first seven starts with a 7.24 ERA a .326 opponents’ batting average, and 26 strikeouts and 10 walks, Cohoon has been a different pitcher in August.  In his last four starts, Cohoon has a 2.10 ERA (6 ER/25.2 IP) and a crazy K/BB ratio of 7 ! (21 K/3 BB).

- By the way, Mejia beat Deolis Guerra (2-10, 6.24), who was a key piece of the trade for Johan Santana.

AAA
Saturday: @ Buffalo Bisons 5, Pawtucket Red Sox 4 (7 innings)
Sunday: Pawtucket Red Sox 9, Buffalo Bisons 2 (7 innings)
Pawtucket Red Sox 7, @ Buffalo Bisons 5 (7 innings)

So we start with injuries.  Fernando Martinez couldn’t go in game two Sunday with a right knee injury while 2B Justin Turner left game one after two pitches and according to Bisons.com “could miss significant time.”

According to his post-game comments, Manager Ken Oberkfell first noticed that Martinez was hobbling running out a ground ball and then saw that he wasn’t moving well in the outfield.  After game one, when asked, Martinez told the coaching staff that indeed his knee was bothering him.  The 21-year old Martinez is dangerously close to making 2010 a lost year.  In 71 games in AAA he’s hitting .253/.317/.455 with 16 doubles and 12 home runs and 17 walks against 65 strikeouts.  He was 3-18 (.167) in his seven MLB games.

The Turner injury comes in a different context, as he’s been one of the Bisons’ most valuable players, and has been making a bid for big league consideration.  The Mets picked up the 25-year old Turner after the Orioles DFA’d him to make room for Scott Moore on May 21.  Adding his 23 games with Norfolk to his 69 with the Bisons, he’s hit a nice .311/.374/.462 with 27 doubles and nine home runs in 92 games in his second year in AAA.  Plugging those numbers into minorleaguesplits.com MLE calculator yields an MLB line with the Mets of .263/.319/.382.  (I did not park-adjust his AAA line because I used the stats from both his time with Buffalo and Norfolk.)  Lest you forget, Mets 2B have hit a combined .220/.298/.272 this year.  So Turner’s production exceed what the Mets were regularly receiving from their second basemen.

No Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who was home for his sister’s wedding.

Josh Stinson made his AAA debut in game one Sunday and gave up five runs, three earned on seven hits, two home runs and two walks.

LF Lucas Duda (.317/.386/.639), who was 2-4 with a double in game two Sunday, just keeps humming along with six extra-base hits in his last ten games.

AA
Saturday: Altoona Curve 10, @ Binghamton Mets 4
Sunday: Altoona Curve 9, @ Binghamton Mets 5

Saturday, Chris Schwinden was a late scratch (he has a strained oblique), so Eddie Kunz started on a bullpen day and gave the B-Mets three shutout innings with four strikeouts and two walks.  Things unraveled from there: when Carlos Muniz gave up four runs in 1.1 innings and Edgar Ramirez outdid him with six runs in 2.1 IP.
Sunday, Dylan Owen was hit pretty hard: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR.
After an 0-5 on Sunday, Jordany Valdespin (.267/.283/.333) had a little five-game hitting streak snapped.
Josh Satin homered Saturday and doubled Sunday.  At .325/.411/.506 in 62 games in AA, he’s another guy who just keeps producing.  With Valdespin stationed at second in AA, if Turner needs to miss a bunch of time, it would be nice to see Satin get a chance in AAA.
Despite a home run on Saturday, Zach Lutz (.277/.387/.585) had a tough weekend going 2-15 with seven strikeouts in his last three games.

After this weekend, the B-Mets have the second-highest ERA in the Eastern League at 4.97 and have issued the most walks (479) in the league.

AA: Binghamton Mets 5, @ New Hampshire Fisher Cats 0
Pure and simple: Jenrry Mejia: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 10 gb, 2 fb.  It was his longest outing of the year and the eight strikeouts in a game were his most since last June 17th.  This is your top Mets pitching prospect. This is good, very good.  (Yeah, he used up his rookie eligibility because he was on the MLB roster too long, but he’s a prospect.)

Mejia told MiLB.com:

“I pitched pretty well,” Mejia said. “My fastball, cutter, change and two-seamer were all good and I felt much stronger. I felt like I could throw any pitch for a strike.”

3B Zach Lutz (.289/.405/.606) was 2-4 with a walk and a strikeout.  He’s hit safely in both games since returning from a week off as a “precaution.”
1B Josh Satin (.327/.416/.500) doubled and homered.  If it seems like he gets a hit every night, well, yeah.  He’s on a ten-game hitting streak.

AAA: @ Buffalo Bisons 4, Rochest Red Wings 3

For the second straight day, the Bisons’ won a game in their final turn at-bat.  Thursday afternoon, J.R. House singled home the winning runs.

Mike Antonini: 6 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
2B Justin Turner, LF Lucas Duda, 1B Nick Evans and CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis all had one hit.