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.

Jenrry Mejia’s

Asked postgame, what worked for him, Mejia said that it was all working: “My fastball, cutter, changeup,” he replied.  He also blew a hole in the nothing that his fastball is a separate pitch from his cutter, ” Somebody say my fastball[is]  like a cutter, but it’s [a] fastball.  Every pitch was pretty good today…”

Bisons’ manager Ken Oberkfell was impressed, “He threw the ball great.  He had electric stuff.  Everything he threw, moved.  He was throwing 96, 97 with movement.  His changeup was moving.  He had a good breaking ball.”

The Bisons ended up losing 4-1 on a night that will be very damaging for their wild card hopes because Columbus, the team they are chasing, beat Indianapolis 6-4 so the Bisons are now 3.5 out with eight to play.  The team entered play 2.5 games behind the Columbus Clippers with nine to play.  The Bisons have a double-header on Saturday the fourth and Mejia could pitch on regular rest Saturday in Lehigh Valley

Some other Bisons:
After an 0-4 night, Kirk Nieuwenhuis is hitting .182/.265/.307 in 22 games in AAA with nine walks against 30 strikeouts.
Nick Evans was 2-3 with a double.  He’s hitting .319/.391/.563 in 31 games with the Bisons this season.

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.

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.

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.

We’ll start with Dillon Gee (13-7, 4.87): 6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 3 HR.
I was watching this one not on SNY, but on MiLB.tv running the SNY feed.  MiLB.tv, because it’s encrypted with windows media, makes it just barely worth it on a mac, but I was disappointed there was no radar gun on Gee all night.   Generally he located well, with a fastball that the Buffalo broadcasters described as topping out at 91.  That, and the types of swings he was getting, suggests he wasn’t above 89-90 mph most of the night.  He used his changeup and curveball.  It’s tough to be too precise commenting on pitches while watching in a few inch-square box.  However, the curve, which he didn’t use that much, stuck out to me as an improved offering.

And then there were the three home runs.  When he made a mistake, it was up, and the Paw Sox crushed it.  Josh Reddick’s second home run was a bomb; it cleared Heron’s Landing in right field in Buffalo.
Here’s the pitch.  Fastball.  Up.

I didn’t see the third home run because the broadcast was gushing on a stumbling play made by Russ Adams at second base.

If you want to believe that Gee can help an MLB staff, I’m not here to convince you otherwise this morning, but:
- his ERA is pushing 5 in AAA
- and the home runs are a major concern.
— Hitters are better and more powerful at the MLB level. If AAA hitters are punching it over the wall with regularity, what happens against the best in the world?

LF Lucas Duda was 2-3 with a double, an RBI and two walks.  Adding his AA and AAA work, he’s sitting at .307/.394/.643 with 36 doubles and 23 homers.  Matt Eddy at Baseball America did a really good piece on Duda on Monday.  Duda explains that a broken wrist as a freshman in 2005, kept him from hitting for power in college:

“After that, it was tough to get to the inside pitch,” he said, “So that’s when my opposite-field hitting approach came into to play. I just wasn’t able to pull the inside pitch. I didn’t have the quickness inside.”

Now, though, he’s ripping everything:

“He doesn’t get cheated up there,” Columbus manager Mike Sarbaugh said. “But at the same time, he’s got a good swing, and he covers the plate.”

CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis was 1-5 with a double and 2 RBI and a strange error in center.
RF Russ Adams homered twice and drove home four.
SNY also showed the video of 2B Justin Turner hurting his knee on Sunday.  His looked like he lost his footing on the wet grass before tumbling and straining his knee – it didn’t look fun.

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.

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.

Just sick.  LF Lucas Duda (.320/.390/.665) was 2-5 with a home run, this one off a lefty, Fabio Castro.  It was his fifth HR in 72 AB against southpaws this year in AAA.
2B Justin Turner (.306/.371/.452), aged 25, had a couple of hits.  Turner’s basically been a .300 hitter every year of his career and he’s been on a tear since the All-Star break at .360/.452/.596 in 23 games.  I’m getting much more interested.
CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis was 0-4 for the third straight night with three strikeouts for the second time in three games.

A+: St. Lucie Mets 7, @ Charlotte Stone Crabs 5 (13 innings)
Wilmer Flores was 3-7 with a double and an RBI.
Rehabbers LF Eric Campbell and C Rod Barajas each had two hits.

A: @ Savannah Sand Gnats 1, Kannapolis Intimidators 0 (7 innings)
@ Savannah Sand Gnats 9, Kannapolis Intimidators 3 (7 innings)

John Church (7-1, 2.07) was tremendous in game one facing two batters over the minimum in a complete game seven inning shutout in which he allowed just one hit and one walk.  Church was mostly 90-91 ish with his fastball.  He made so much progress with his breaking ball that the Mets moved him from the bullpen into the rotation at the All-Star Break.  He fanned five and picked up 13 groundball outs.  (The box score says 14, but there was one line out and a fly out.  Not sure what’s up with that.)
2B Alonzo Harris played some slick D for Church, making a diving stop, and a tricky back-hand pick.
All nine starters reached safely in game two which, with six runs in the first inning, had a very different feel.  R.J. Harris crushed a two run home run in the first to draw the Gnats even at 3-3.
In game two,  Gabriel Zavala tossed a scoreless inning out of the Savannah bullpen.  He’s been essentially untouchable (28 IP, 15 H, 5 BB, 32 K).  The converted outfielder walked 27 in 40 innings last year in the GCL, but his control with a variety of breaking pitches has been very impressive.  His fastball hangs out around 90, if I remember right, it was 88-92 on the scoreboard Monday.

After two doubles on Saturday, Lucas Duda had his 11-game hitting streak snapped by Sunday’s 0-4 in which he played first after playing mostly LF for Buffalo.  Lest you forget, the 24-year old Duda is hitting .318/.389/.657 in 53 games in AAA.  His left/right splits remain almost amazing: .361/.427/.744 vs. RHP and .235/.316/.485 vs. LHP.  Those numbers point to something he does well – smack righties – and something that he doesn’t – hit lefties.
After consecutive 0-4 games Saturday and Sunday, Kirk Nieuwenhuis is hitting .275/.370/.450 in his first ten games at AAA.
The Bisons enter Monday three games behind Louisville in the IL Wild Card Hunt.
Saturday, Michael Antonini (1-1, 4.50): 6 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

AA Binghamton Mets
Saturday: @ Binghamton Mets 11, Reading Phillies 9
Sunday: PPD by Rain
Why wins are dumb, part eight million and one: Robert Carson: W, 5 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
Sean Ratliff (.335/.372/.620) was 3-5 with three singles.  That seems like a rare line for him; 33 of his 74 hits in AA have been doubles or homers.
3B Josh Satin (.325/.417/.485) was 2-4 with a home run.  He’s 25, but he just keeps hitting.  He’s a second baseman by trade, but can play a little first and third, which helps.
2B Jordany Valdespin was 0-1 before departing early.

A+ St. Lucie Mets
Saturday: @ Palm Beach Cardinals 3, St. Lucie Mets 2
Sunday: @ Port Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, St. Lucie Mets 7

Both recently promoted members of the Savannah bullpen, Erik Turgeon (Saturday) and Michael Powers (Sunday) gave up runs in the the opponents’ final turn at bat this weekend to take losses.
Saturday, Brad Holt: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 K.  That’s now 37 walks and 41 strikeouts in 49.1 innings in St. Lucie for Holt.  Last year in 43.1 innings, it was 13 walks against 54 strikeouts.
Sunday, DH Eric Campbell was 3-4 with a double in his seventh rehab game with St. Lucie.  He played LF Saturday.  Sunday was his first multi-hit affair and first with an extra-base hit. Wrist injuries are supposed to sap guys’ power.  How about broken fingers?  Bat control?

A – Savannah Sand Gnats
Saturday: @ Savannah Sand Gnats 8, Kannapolis Intimidators 2
Sunday: PPD by Rain.

This was a pretty complete game from the Gnats.
DH Robbie Shields (.267/.276/.407 – 20 games) was 2-5 with a line drive of a home run in the first inning that cleared the wall in left in a hurry.
2B Alonzo Harris (.236/.279/.363) had one of his better games of the year, going 3-5 with two doubles and a home run from the leadoff spot.
Taylor Whitenton (7-6, 4.00) struck out 11 in five innings shutout innings in which he gave up only one hit.  He relied heavily on his fastball, mostly up and out of the zone with two strikes.