Backman on McHugh:

“He turned himself into somebody this year… If he stays healthy, he’s going to pitch in the big leagues.”

Backman on keeping McHugh in AA despite some ugly-looking numbers to start the year:

“You’re talking about a kid with a six-something ERA, we were only going to have him for a short time,” Backman said. “We begged to keep him. They said, ‘Okay, go ahead you can keep him.’ Once you ask for a guy like that and they let you have him, you’re stuck with him. He did all the work you had to do. He definitely the most improved and most consistent pitcher that we had here for the time he was here, without question, even more so than our two big guys (Familia and Harvey).”

McHugh on McHugh, explaining his AA success:

“(I was) more aggressive, more aggressive in the strike zone…You can’t give hitters too much credit. Pitchers always say that, but it’s the truth.”

Final starts of the year edition.

Sunday, Matt Harvey: 3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 H
Monday: Jeurys Familia: 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K. I love the 96 strikeouts in 87.2 innings.
How about these monster platoon splits:
Vs Left: .331/.401/.551, 16 BB/32 K – 10% BB/21% K – 153 TPA
Vs Right: .194/.288/.257, 19 BB/64 K – 8% BB/27% K – 235 TPA

- Reese Havens didn’t play on Monday, but with three doubles in his last four games finished up at AA in 2011 with a .289/.372/.455. In 36 games after the AA All-Star Break, he bashed at .315/.397/.488 with 17 walks and 34 strikeouts.

- Allan Dykstra (.267/.389/.474) finished with home runs in each of his last two games to run his season total to 19.

SS Jordany Valdespin’s throwing error with two outs in the bottom of the ninth allowed Lehigh Valley to score the game-winning run. Valdespin (.295/.320/.442 – 23 G at AAA), who was 1-4, did extend his hitting streak to 11 games.

AA: Reading Phillies 4, @ Binghamton Mets 2

Oh damn. He’s doing it again. After two hitless games that ended his hitting streak at 19 games, RF Juan Lagares got going again, going 2-5 with two doubles.

For the second straight game 2B Reese Havens (.287/.373/.455) doubled and walked.

Tobi Stoner (4-6, 5.76): 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K. A fitting conclusion to a lost season for a guy who made big league appearances in both 2009 and 2010.

Now that’s a way to end a season.  Collin McHugh (8-2, 2.89) 9 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 11 K.   The complete game was the first by a B-Mets starter this year, and the 11 strikeouts were a new double-A high for McHugh.

Splits time (at AA):
Pre All-Star Break: 5.06 ERA, 8 G, 7 GS, 37.1 IP, 39 H, 23 R, 21 ER, 2 HR, 19 BB, 35 K
Post All-Star Break: 1.45 ERA, 10 G, 9 GS, 56 IP, 39 H, 9 R, 13 BB, 65 K

That’s just excellent.

2B Reese Havens (.288/.373/.455) was 1-3 with a double and a walk.  Patience?  Power?

Something important to keep in mind about the guys playing second base in AA and AAA at the end of the year: Havens has a .373 on-base percentage in AA and an 11.4% walk rate.  Jordany Valdespin had a .341 on-base percentage and a 5.8% walk rate in AA.

C Kai Gronauer’s (.243/.321/.365) solo home run in the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie to give the B-Mets the go ahead run.

Jeurys Familia: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.  10 gb outs, 2 fb outs.  The 21-year old in his first go-round in AA: 16 GS, 82.2 IP, 78 H, 40 R, 31 ER, 33 BB, 92 K.  With a big-time fastball and a slider that can be deadly, he fanned 10 batters/9 IP, walked 3.6 and had a 2.8 K/BB ratio.

Juan Lagares was 0-4 to snap his hitting streak at 19 straight games.

After going 2-for-4 with a solo home run, 24 year old 1B/3B Eric Campbell is now hitting .328/.385/.500 in 134 AB after the all-star break.

Damn, man.  Juan Lagares was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 19 straight games.  Dude’s hitting .397/.420/.544 in 32 games in AA.  He’s hit safely in 30 of 32 games with the B-Mets.  He’s hitting .402 (33-for-82) with five doubles, two triples, a homer and a .437 OBP in his 19-game streak which is the longest active hitting streak in the Eastern League.  He’s one game away from tying Tim Fedroff (Akron – Cleveland affiliate) for the longest hitting streak in the Eastern League in 2011.  Raise your hand if you saw this coming.  Anyone?

Brahiam Maldonado launched a solo home run, his 27th jack of the year, in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie to give the B-Mets a win.  Maldonado, who is second in the EL in homers, will be 26 in September and is hitting .228/.291/.465 overall with 37 walks against 137 strikeouts in 125 games.  Lets move on.

Robert Carson was ok: 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.  It was his first walk-less start since May 4th.

Brad Holt worked a scoreless eighth, while Josh Stinson handled the ninth.

Reese Havens hit a walk-off bomb in the bottom of the 12th inning as a pinch-hitter.  Dude’s hitting .294/.377/.449 in 51 games in AA as a 24-year old and .357/.446/.571 in 20 games in August.  Um, yeah.  That’s good.

Some dude named “J. Reyes” was 2-5 and played eight innings defensively.  I’m told he’s one to watch.

I might be the only one who cares, but at age 24, after going 3-5, Eric Campbell is hitting .308/.368/.467 in the second half after flopping at .210/.334/.272 in the first half.

Also, possible September call-up Josh Stinson recorded eight outs for the win with one walk, a hit and four whiffs.

Sure, Jose Reyes was 1-3 with a monster home run to right.

But is he hitting .400?  RF Juan Lagares, after going 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI is sitting at .398/.419/.553 in 29 games in AA.  Dude can hit.  He’s just making solid contact again and again.  But no, there’s no way he can sustain his  .461 BABIP in AA.  However, his BABIP is to some degree, a reflection of all the hard contact he’s making.  His extra-base hit rate is a solid 9.3% and his strikeout rate is a strong 15.5%.

He will certainly need to walk more, a walk rate of 3.1%, as he’s run at AA, would the the third lowest among all qualified hitters in Major League Baseball! Even giving Lagares credit for his time in the FSL, and his overall 2011 walk-rate of 5.4% would put him at #21 among MLB hitters.  The good news for him is that there are productive MLB hitters who walk in the range of 5% or less, including Starlin Castro, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Adrian Beltre.  A scout recently comped Lagares to Melky Cabrera, who’s having his best season as a professional this year, and his first with an OPS+ above 100 (he’s at 124) right now.  However, at Lagares’ age, 22, Cabrera was hitting .273/.327/.391 in his second season as a nearly everyday player in the Bronx.

Collin McHugh: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K.  That’s 12 innings without a run with two walks and 14 strikeouts.  McHugh’s August: 25 IP, 18 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 29 K.  Yeah, that’s really good.

Reyes’ bomb of a home run:

The B-Mets overcame a 4-0 hole with a five-run sixth inning powered by a three-run homer from Reese Havens, to win their sixth straight game.  By going 1-for-3 with a homer, his fourth of the year, and a walk, the 24-year old Havens pushed his AA line to .289/.372/.433 in 49 games in AA this year.

-RF Juan Lagares was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 straight games.  He’s hitting .373 (22-for-59) over his streak with three doubles, two triples and a home run for a .542 slugging percentage.

- CF Matt den Dekker was 1-3 with a homer, his ninth in AA and his 15th for the year split between the Florida State League and the Eastern League.  The 24-year old is hitting .243/.327/.446 with 74 strikeouts in 60 games in AA.

- 1B Eric Campbell put together an awesome line: 1-1, 2B, 3 BB.  After a dreadful start to the year (.210/.334/.272 in 80 games before the All-Star Break), Campbell has quietly turned it around, by bopping .301/.350/.460 in the 33 games since the break with just 13 strikeouts in 33 games.

- Brandon Moore (10-8, 4.43) wasn’t great (6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), but the offense got him off the hook.