Will Reese Havens Ever Put It Together For The Mets?

In 2008, the Mets had one of their better drafts in recent years.  That year they selected five players who have since made their major league debuts.  With the 18th overall pick, the Mets took Ike Davis, who rewarded them with a 32 HR, 90 RBI campaign in 2012.  They also selected Kirk Nieuwenhuis (3rd round), Josh Satin (6th round), Collin McHugh (18th round) and Chris Schwinden (22nd round).

Nieuwenhuis and McHugh contributed to the team this year and are expected to continue to be a part of the team's future, while Satin and Schwinden may be able to fill in for injured players in 2013.  There was another player who was drafted by the Mets in that year's draft who was expected to be a regular on the major league team by now.  Instead, he's become a regular on the disabled list and has not advanced past AA-Binghamton.  That player is Reese Havens.

Will we ever see Reese Havens wearing this uniform at Citi Field?

David Reese Havens was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2008 draft, four picks after the team yanked Ike Davis from the amateur pot.  After a stellar final year at the University of South Carolina (.359, 76 runs, 18 HR, 57 RBI in 63 games), Havens was projected to be a power-hitting middle infielder.  But once the Mets drafted Havens, the injuries soon followed.

Havens missed nearly two months of his first professional baseball season with injuries to his elbow and groin.  As a result, he only played in 23 games for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2008.  The following season, Havens collected 430 plate appearance for the St. Lucie Mets, showing some of his power potential with 19 doubles and 14 homers.  Although he hit .247, he showed great plate discipline with a .361 on-base percentage and only 73 strikeouts.  But over the next two seasons, the injury bug came back to haunt Havens and stunted his development.

In 2010, Havens played in only 32 games for St. Lucie and AA-Binghamton, followed by a 61-game effort for the same two teams in 2011.  When Havens was healthy, he played well, combining to hit .297 with 21 doubles, 15 HR and 47 RBI in those 93 games.  But Havens was rarely healthy, losing time with oblique and back problems.

The 2012 season began with Havens once again on the disabled list with back problems, but he returned to Binghamton in April and played 94 games for the B-Mets.  Despite playing most of the season, he had a poor year at the plate, batting .215 and struck out an alarming 113 times in 325 at-bats.

Reese Havens has been in the Mets' minor league system for five seasons now, but has only appeared in 307 games.  His .253 batting average in the minors has not been impressive, but he has shown outstanding extra-base hit potential (60 doubles, six triples, 42 HR) in what amounts to two major league seasons' worth of games.  He also draws a lot of walks, as evidenced by his .358 career on-base percentage.  But all of this has been accomplished with Havens not having played a single game above the Double-A level.

Yesterday was Reese Havens' 26th birthday.  He will probably play at AAA-Las Vegas in 2013, reaching the top rung of the minor league level for the first time in his sixth professional baseball season.  He is no longer considered a top minor league prospect.  But he is still on the Mets' radar, especially since the team has still not fully committed to Daniel Murphy as their second baseman of the future.

It's quite possible that last year's poor performance at AA-Binghamton could have been because Havens was concealing an injury.  After all, the former first round draft pick was already 25 and wanted to prove to the organization that he could stay on the field for an entire season.  But what if Havens stays healthy in 2013 and continues to hit under .250 while striking out every three at-bats?

The Mets have already given Ike Davis, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Josh Satin, Collin McHugh and Chris Schwinden a shot at the majors.  They've also given Reese Havens every opportunity to become the sixth player from the draft class of 2008 to advance to the big show.  It's up to Havens to stay on the field and produce on it if he wants to show the team that they were right in drafting him alongside a handful of other future major leaguers.  2013 may be his final chance to do so.

Chipper Jones Welcomes Josh Edgin To The Mets

On Friday, Josh Edgin became the 934th player in Mets history to play for the team.  He also became the 442nd player to take the mound for the Mets when he came into the game in the fifth inning to clean up the mess Miguel Batista left for him.  Edgin struck out both batters he faced to escape the bases loaded, one-out jam.  However, he didn't become a true Met until the following inning.  What happened to earn him this dubious honor?

Chipper Jones took him deep.

If chicks dig the longball, chicks must really dig Chipper Jones when he bats against the Mets.

Josh Edgin started the sixth inning trying to keep the Mets within one run of the Braves.  But he didn't check the playlist on Chipper Jones' Farewell Tour before the Braves' third baseman walked up to the plate to face him.  You see, Chipper Jones always has a second set when he faces the Mets.  It's a set that includes taking a new pitcher deep every time he sees him.  And Josh Edgin found out about that set one pitch too late.

In allowing Jones' 49th career HR against the Mets, Josh Edgin became the 35th different Mets pitcher to watch his meatball leave the yard.  27 of those 35 pitchers gave up exactly one home run to Jones.  Those pitchers are:

• Josias Manzanillo (1995)
• Pete Harnisch (1995)
• Pete Walker (1995)
• Mark Clark (1996)
• Jason Isringhausen (1997)
• Masato Yoshii (1999)
• Pat Mahomes (1999)
• Dennis Cook (1999)
• John Franco (2000)
• Glendon Rusch (2001)
• Satoru Komiyama (2002)
• Pedro Astacio (2002)
• Tom Glavine (2003)
• Jae Weong Seo (2003)
• Edwin Almonte (2003)
• Pedro Martinez (2006)
• Darren Oliver (2006)
• John Maine (2007)
• J.J. Putz (2009)
• Pedro Feliciano (2009)
• Pat Misch (2009)
• Johan Santana (2010)
• D.J. Carrasco (2011)
• Jonathon Niese (2011)
• R.A. Dickey (2011)
• Chris Schwinden (2011)
• Josh Edgin (2012)

Jones has also victimized eight different Mets pitchers on multiple occasions.  Those pitchers are listed below, along with the number of home runs they gave up to him and the years in which those home runs were hit:

• Bobby Jones: 4 HR (1996, 1997 [twice], 1998) 
• Steve Trachsel: 4 HR (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
• Rick Reed: 3 HR (1999, 2001 [twice])
• Mike Pelfrey: 3 HR (2007, 2008, 2010)
• Orel Hershiser: 2 HR (1999 [twice])
• Aaron Heilman: 2 HR (2003, 2005)
• Dave Mlicki: 2 HR (1995, 1997)
• Al Leiter: 2 HR (1999, 2000)

Here are some additional tidbits of home run information, courtesy of Chipper Jones' bat and the good folks at baseball-reference.com.

Although Chipper Jones has five multi-HR games against the Mets, Bobby Jones is the only pitcher in Mets history to allow two home runs to Chipper in the same game, doing so on June 25, 1997.  Chipper's non-relative allowed a solo shot in the fourth inning followed by a grand slam in the fifth.  In each of Chipper Jones' other four multi-HR games against the Mets, he took multiple pitchers deep.

Since the Mets left Shea Stadium for Citi Field in 2009, Jones has hit ten home runs against them.  Those ten homers were hit off ten different pitchers, with Jones doing the 120-yard trot against (in order) J.J. Putz, Pedro Feliciano, Pat Misch, Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, D.J. Carrasco, Jonathon Niese, R.A. Dickey, Chris Schwinden and Josh Edgin.  (Here's a tip for Mets pitchers.  If you don't want to give up a home run to Chipper Jones, go by your given first name, not by your initials.  Got that, Putz, Carrasco and Dickey?)

The home run allowed by Edgin on Friday was the first given up by a Met to Jones in 2012.  If no other Met serves up a homer to the Braves' soon-to-be retiree (which is about as likely as Lucas Duda winning a Gold Glove this year), this would mark the fourth season in which Jones hit only one home run against the Mets.  In 1998, 2004 and 2008, Jones hit only one home run against the Mets, taking Bobby Jones deep in 1998, Steve Trachsel in 2004, and Mike Pelfrey in 2008.  Not by coincidence, those are the three Mets pitchers who allowed the most home runs to Jones during their time in Flushing.  (Pelfrey is tied with Rick Reed for third-most home runs allowed.)

Finally, Josh Edgin is not alone in allowing a home run to Chipper Jones during his major league debut.  Two other Mets pitchers received their "welcome to the majors" present from Chipper Jones in the form of a home run as well.

At Shea, at Citi, or at Turner Field, no Met pitcher is safe from Chipper Jones.

On July 7, 2003, Edwin Almonte made his major league debut for the Mets, pitching in relief of Jae Weong Seo, who had already given up a home run to Jones earlier in the game.  Almonte must not have been watching from the bullpen, as he allowed another home run to Jones in the eighth inning.  Almonte went on to pitch 11 more games in relief for the Mets in 2003, never recording a decision for the team, but finishing his abbreviated career with a whopping 11.12 ERA, the highest ERA for any Mets pitcher who appeared in at least 10 games.

Just last year, during the first game of a doubleheader on September 8, 2011, Chris Schwinden was rocked by a Chipper Jones home run in the third inning of his major league debut.  Like Almonte before him, Schwinden has not won a game in the major leagues, despite making six additional appearances (five starts) since his debut.  Fortunately, his 6.98 ERA as a Met is not the highest of any pitcher in Mets history who has made at least six starts.  That honor goes to Calvin Schiraldi, who was a Met before he lost Games 6 and 7 of the 1986 World Series to his former team.  Schiraldi had a 7.63 ERA as a Met in 15 appearances (seven starts) with the team in 1984 and 1985.  Fortunately for him, he was out of baseball by 1991, so he was not able to be taken deep by Chipper Jones.

Chipper Jones has not just welcomed Mets pitchers to the big leagues.  He has also given a goodbye present to one unfortunate soul.  On September 11, 2002, during the first game of a doubleheader, Jones hit a home run off Mets reliever Satoru Komiyama.  It was the last hit allowed by Komiyama in the major leagues, as he never pitched again after that game.  And just for the record, Komiyama finished his one-year career in the big leagues with an 0-3 record.  No wins.  Just like Almonte.  Just like Schwinden.  Just like Edgin (as of now).

Chipper Jones has always been one of the biggest thorns in the Mets' side.  Josh Edgin has now been pricked by that thorn.  Welcome to the big leagues, Josh.  You're a true Met now.

I Tawt I Taw A Tim Byrdak

For many years, Sylvester the Cat has been foiled by Tweety Bird.  Similarly, for many months, Mets fans with Twitter accounts were foiled by Tim Byrdak not having his own account.  But fear not, Mets fans.  Your fav'rit Hulkamaniac is no longer sans Twitter account.  You heard me right.

Sylvester never caught Tweety Bird.  But we have now caught Byrdak tweeting.

I tawt I taw T.B.!  But is it Tweety Bird, Terry Bollea or Tim Byrdak?

At Studious Metsimus, we want all of our readers to get the full Mets experience, so we encourage all of you to follow Tim Byrdak on Twitter, which you can do by clicking here.

Here is our first tweet to the Mets' lefty specialist, who is currently "specializing" in torn meniscus surgery rehabilitation.

@Givemethelefty Welcome aboard, Tim! I'm writing a post for my #Mets blog on you joining Twitter. You should have 4½ new followers soon!
— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) March 17, 2012

Here's hoping that Tim Byrdak recovers from his surgery soon to become an important part of the Mets bullpen.  The sooner he comes back, the sooner we can relax knowing that the Mets will not try to make a trade for Oliver Perez to fill in for him as the team's lefty specialist.


To follow other past, present and future Mets on Twitter, please click on the following links:

R.A. Dickey: @RADickey43
Justin Turner: @redturn2
Johan Santana: @johansantana
Zack Wheeler: @wheelerpro45
Sandy Alderson: @MetsGM
Dwight Gooden: @DocGooden16
Chris Schwinden: @CSchwinny