Heels On The Field: A Baseball Blog

Trenton Thunder Manager Tony Franklin On Austin Romine's Return

There's no side effects from the injury [concussion]. He hasn't complained about anything. He played two straight days and then we gave him a day off. [He played Monday]. He's fine so far.

When asked if there was ever any consideration to Romine DH'ing when he returned: He was cleared by the doctors to resume full activity. We may have mentioned it. But I think the plan was to get him back behind the plate. That's probably where we needed him most.

When suggested Romine's leadership was missed: Exactly. And Romine was playing really well when we lost him. He's a second year guy here and is now the veteran guy, the go-to-guy with the pitching staff and behind the plate

Romine got a base hit and doubled in Monday night's opener against division rival New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Craig Heyer picked up the win going seven innings, despite a shaky start. 6-4 final for the Thunder who entered the series trailing the division leading Cats by four games. Romine appeared tentative at the plate, but looked to be at full strength behind the plate. He's hitting .366 since his return with four hits, an RBI, and a walk.

Iron Pigs Scott Mathieson Breaks Down His Pitches

Phillies Scott Mathieson has a 2.59 ERA in 31 innings of work for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He's now been moved from the bullpen to the rotation.

Here he goes through his pitches and what's working for him.

 

Fastball - I feel great throwing it. Going from the bullpen to starter again changes the use of it a little bit. I'm sure I'll be throwing it more. My command has felt great.

Curveball - I threw it for four strikes in my last outing. I can throw it for strikes right now and get it called a strike the way I'm throwing it.

Slider - Right now I can use it as an out-pitch or to get ahead of hitters. It's been very effective for me this season.

Split Finger - I can even use it effectively on righties right now. I'm getting a lot of swings and misses with it. I have to be careful not to leave it up in the zone.

Stamina - I've felt really strong this year, even though I had a rough start early in the season. Last outing I threw 62 pitches...I felt like I could have gone another inning or two.

Walks/Control - Early in the season I think the numers show I had a harder time with that. But I'm getting ahead of guys a lot more often now and it's not been a problem.

Bullpen/Starter - I think I've proven I can do both. I've always loved starting, though.

Hard Times For Binghamton Mets Brad Holt

In seven of his eleven starts Brad Holt has not survived past the fifth inning.

On Friday the righty made his team-leading twelfth start verses their Yankees affiliated rival, the Trenton Thunder. The results were bad to worse, as he allowed five earned runs and walked seven, one shy of his career high eight, in three innings. When he handed the ball to manager Wally Backman his ERA was 15.00.

Mechanics or mentality, lack of comfort or lack of health, there's always a question whether it's physical or mental, or a potent mixture of both. With Holt, there's a sense that his sensibility is affected.

"This is just from speculation, but Holty has a hard time concentrating for long periods of time," said Binghamton Mets manager Wally Backman. "That's what I've seen. He'll be great, like a few starts ago he pitched four perfect innings and in the fifth it was like a different pitcher. I think it's not his stuff. It's lack of concentration. You can't just lose your stuff that fast."

Any psychological issue is tricky. If Holt is feeling a lack of confidence or lacking focus, as players do, the process can be long. And there is no real answer. Sometimes it can take time, even, perhaps, a winter break to get themselves back.

So far he's 2-5 with a 4.26 ERA. His 40 walks allowed are a glaring digit over the 57 innings he's pitched.

Holt,25, has played parts of seasons at the Double-A level since 2009. He's not had a full season at that level and he likely needs it.

"I think before he can leave here he's got to show a little more consistency," said Backman.

The Mets chose Holt in the 2008 draft in the first round (33rd overall) and he did exactly what the Mets wanted him to do at short-season Class-A Brooklyn. He went 5-3 with 1.87 ERA, allowing just three home runs and striking out 96 in 72 innings. 2009 earned him two promotions - he started the season at St. Lucie, finishing the season at Binghamton with a 6.21 ERA. He stumbled through Binghamton in 2010, finishing the season back at St. Lucie with a 7.48 ERA.

"Well, he started off hot this year," said pitching coach Mark Valdes. "Like most pitchers, guys start thinking too much and start doing too much. And it's about simplifying it. He's working on mechanics and he's working on getting the ball down in the zone. And that's what he did early on."

Command is the key factor. In Holt's Friday start he struggled to throw strikes from the first inning. He was unable to keep hitters off balance with any off-speed stuff. And although this is not an exact reading from radar, his velocity definitely dropped from his last start against Trenton. Previously, he's thrown harder and was able to hit his spots much more consistently.

There's certainly something to be said for an offense that has not given him run support. The B-Mets are averaging four runs per game in Holt's starts. The team as a whole is batting .239, the second worst average in the Eastern League. There might not be a lot of confidence to go around for a team that's gone 19-39.

Maybe the offense doesn't matter. Maybe there's something Brad Holt just can't get straight and won't this season. But he's still got plenty of time.

And his progress still matters to the Mets and a fanbase that's starving for promise.

 

 

 

Tony Franklin Addresses Julius Matos Suspension, Romine, Justin Pope

Trenton, New Jersey -

On Austin Romine: I didn't think the hit he took was that hard. But I'm not a medical guy. So it's a little more serious than it appeared to be.

On Hitting Coach Julius Matos: He's been suspended indefinitely. The organization took steps they felt were appropriate with the situation. I'm fine with that. Dont' get me wrong, it's not easy situation to deal with or being involved in. It's a very diffucult situation for me. Things happen within a baseball team, within the family and sometimes an action needs to be taken and it was. Hopefully things work out best for Julius.

Adjusting After Matos Dismissal: Making adjustments is part of the season. We have to learn how to make adjsutments. We have to put that on the backburner and go about the business of baseball.It was unfortunate for all of us, not just Julius and me, but for the players as well.

[Franklin said he has not spoken to Matos since the incident.]

Melky Mesa Update. He's getting better. He's going throughthe process and trying to get back on the field. He was running today. That's a positive sign. He's not experiencing any soreness or pain. We're waiting. Can't give you a specific day, but the signs are positive.

Justin Pope: He's getting three years worth of experiene in two months. This is good for him to be involved in all areas of the game.

[Shared these other quotes from Franklin on Romine earlier on Twitter as well.]

Tony Franklin on Austin Romine:

"He's fine. He does have a small concussion."

"He's making improvements every single day."