The action this morning has been in the NL East, with the Nationals making an important bullpen addition and the Mets receiving some unfortunate injury news. Nats fans may also want to have a look at a profile of manager Dusty Baker penned by Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. For followers of other organizations in the division, here are a few more notes:
- Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki is drawing praise for his handling of knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. Dickey himself and manager Brian Snitker both said that the veteran Suzuki did well receiving the tricky righty in his first attempt in game action. That may bode well for his bid to carve out playing time, as the organization intends to utilize either Suzuki or Tyler Flowers as the primary knuckleball catcher. It’s not yet clear how the playing time will be allocated between the two backstops out of the gate, though that seems likely to change throughout the season depending upon performance. Anthony Recker is also on hand as an option behind the dish, but he doesn’t appear to have a clear path to a roster spot.
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com checks in on Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff, who has continued to impress the club this spring. Asked about Eickhoff’s ceiling, skipper Pete Mackanin said that the 26-year-old hurler “is a pretty darn good pitcher right now” — an assessment that certainly is supported by his strong showing in 2016. Eickhoff is a notably hard worker, per Salisbury, who explains that he’s focusing currently on refining his change. The righty himself certainly isn’t tamping down expectations. “I think the sky is the limit,” he said. “I’m going to continue working, whether it’s being Greg Maddux-esque with command or having a good breaking ball, or throwing a changeup like Maddux and guys like that did. There’s always something I’m working on and trying to develop and sharpen up.”
- With Tim Tebow drawing his share of attention at Mets camp, though he’s working on the minor-league side, his comments yesterday drew an interesting take from Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Having previously asserted that he intends to push toward the majors, Tebow struck a somewhat different tone, saying that his “ultimate goal is to be able enjoy it every day.” Davidoff argues that his tweaked stance ought to free fans to simply enjoy (or ignore) Tebow as a sideshow, rather than continuing to debate whether the former NFL QB has any future in the game worthy of the attention he has received.
I don’t think anyone saw Eickhoff becoming the pitcher he’s become when the Hamels trade was consummated. Testament to the Phillies pro scouting department and his work ethic.
Agreed, Eickhoff looks like at least a decent mid-rotation piece long term
When this all started, I was rooting for Tebow. But now I just feel bad for the Mets younger players, having to deal with all of the media attention. No player in minor league camp should be given a press conference.
Ha you must be too young to remember Michael Jordan with White Sox
Michael Jordan wasn’t a good baseball player, but he was miles better than Tebow at a much higher level. He would have never made the majors, of course, and Tebow will never make the majors (Collins basically admitted that yesterday), but Jordan’s season in AA, for a guy who had barely ever played baseball, was much more impressive than Tebow’s powerless, defense-averse stint in the AFL.
SENS I TIVE
Tebow’s issues are going to ne that hit tool killing his OBP. Even if his power is legit and stays,Having an ISO of. 200+ or slugging .500 doesn’t have much value if it comes with a .250 OBP
Why is everything Tebow says taken so out of context, the guy has a dream beyond just baseball so what? He wants to help people so shouldn’t we be encouraging him so he can further himself so he can give more?? Does just an all around great guy and people just want to tear him apart such a shame honestly
I don’t have any love or hate for Tebow. I am just amazed at the hate he receives. I tried to find out what he did that caused the press hates him so badly. I just don’t see it, unless it’s the Pro-Life stuff. I suppose there’s some hate there if a guy is pro life. I can’t understand why people like Davidoff feel the need to try to set him up with stupid and irrelavent questions to try baiting him into saying something silly. He’s just a guy that the Mets hired. They didn’t have to. If Davidoff and his ilk are so upset that Tebow is at spring training, why not try to set up their GM with stupid questions? Hate is a powerful thing. Davidoff has it in spades.
Hate? Nah, mostly it’s just puzzlement that a 30-year-old with no obvious baseball skills and an aversion to committing to the sport got 100K. I hold no ill will towards Tebow; I’ll take your word about his “pro-life” stuff, whatever that means, but he’s pretty much a joke as a baseball player. The Mets made huge money selling his jersey last year, and he seems like a very nice guy, but every at-bat he takes keeps a more deserving player from the game.
That’s exactly the point! The Met’s interests are purely to make a buck off him. That he may block a true prospect is irrelevant to the Wilpon’s. They run a team in one of the two largest markets in baseball like it is a minor league team that considers having a freak show attraction.
To compare Tebow to MJ is like comparing a bicycle to an automobile.
Tebow will not ever be considered for the best of the NFL; MJ is arguably the best player ever in the NBA.
MJ worked to become successful as a major league player; Tebow is working to make a few bucks because he has little value elsewhere.
Kurt Suski is in altanta so Matt Wieters should of signed with the Twins