Buffalo Bisons preview
Herd roster built for speed, pitching
Pitching and defense. Bunting and running. Small ball.
Welcome to National League-style baseball at Coca-Cola Field.
Don't look for the Buffalo Bisons to sit back waiting for the home run in their first season as a Mets affiliate like they did so often with great success while with Cleveland.
For one thing, there aren't a lot of big power bats on this club. The Mets' philosophy calls for speed; their Triple-A New Orleans club stole 76 bases last year while Double-A Binghamton stole 114 and Class A Savannah (Ga.) swiped 109. Buffalo had just 66 last year.
"We've got speed, not burning speed but guys who are going to be aggressive," said new Buffalo manager Ken Oberkfell, who won a World Series ring as the third baseman for the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals. "We've got guys who can hit the home run but we have a good mixture, a good nucleus."
"The thing that really stands out is our pitching staff," added outfielder Jason Cooper, the only player with previous experience in Buffalo. "We've got so many veterans that know how to take the ball late in the game and get the job done. Combine that with some of our younger starters and if we can put up any kind of offensive support, this can be a pretty exciting year."
The Mets' top positional prospect will be here in 20-year-old Dominican outfielder Fernando Martinez. He's a natural center fielder but won't play there much because his path to the big leagues is blocked in New York by Carlos Beltran, so he'll be in left and right field.
Martinez has been nursing a sore elbow from the Caribbean World Series and will be limited to designated hitter duties to start the season.
New Orleans had just a .258 batting average last year and scored the second-fewest runs in the hitter-happy Pacific Coast League. Offense remains the Mets' biggest question mark in Triple-A.
"I've always been a big believer in good pitching and defense and we have that," Oberkfell said. "We'll find ways to score. Our offense isn't as bad as people might think. We'll be fine. We'll score runs. Our defense should be solid and our pitching is very solid on paper."
The Bisons are still in the end stages of finalizing their roster. Here's how things currently stand:
PITCHING/CATCHING
The mound staff is easily the strength of the club. The rotation opens with a pair of 22-year-olds in left-hander Jonathan Niese and righty Dillon Gee, who was the surprise of big-league camp. Then come veterans Nelson Figueroa, Casey Fossum and Brandon Knight.
Niese was the organization's Pitcher of the Year last year, combining to go 11-8 at Binghamton and New Orleans with a 3.13 ERA. He also got three September starts in New York (1-1, 7.07), getting his win with eight shutout innings Sept. 13 against Atlanta.
There is plenty of experience in middle relief with Elmer Dessens (140 starts and nearly 1,100 big-league innings), former Red Sox hurler Kyle Snyder, Connor Robertson, Eddie Camacho, Carlos Muniz and 39-year-old Japanese import Ken Takahashi, who was just signed last week after playing the last three years for Hiroshima under former Buffalo manager Marty Brown.
The closer will be 6-foot-5, 265-pound Eddie Kunz, who turns 23 today. He was the Mets' first-round pick out of Oregon State in 2007 and had 27 saves last year at Binghamton before eventually getting four brief outings in New York.
The starting catcher is expected to be 33-year-old Robinson Cancel, who first cracked the big leagues in 1999 with Milwaukee and finally broke through again last year to play 27 games for the Mets.
INFIELD
The Mets are high on first base/outfield prospect Nick Evans, who was going to make the big club's Opening Day roster for a few days until they signed Gary Sheffield last week. Evans hit .257 in 109 at-bats for the Mets last season and was fourth on the club this spring with 12 RBIs.
"I was expecting to get Nick," Oberkfell said. "But I'm kind of excited I get him for Opening Day instead of having to wait for him for three or four days."
"My spring went well," said Evans, 23. "I got a lot of playing time with [players gone] to the [World Baseball Classic] and I'm looking forward to getting it going here."
The Bisons have another strong first base candidate in Cuban Michel Abreu, who had a big year in 2008 at New Orleans (.285, 15 HRs, 66 RBIs) and led PCL first basemen in fielding with just four errors.
An ace utility man who should see plenty of time at third base is 32-year-old Rob Mackowiak, whose career highs are 17 homers and 75 RBIs for Pittsburgh in 2004. Andy Green, Canadian Jonathan Malo and Argenis Reyes could be candidates for second base. Jose Coronado, a 22-year-old Venezuelan, will man shortstop after hitting .308 in his native country's winter league.
OUTFIELD
Martinez has battled injuries through his brief career, failing to play more than 90 games in any of his three pro seasons. The Mets considered keeping him in extended spring training to start the season so he wouldn't play in cold weather but opted instead to have him head north and simply DH.
"He should be ready to play the outfield against our first NL opponent," Oberkfell said, pointing to an April 16 game at Syracuse. "He's going through a throwing program. He's making good progress."
Center field in Buffalo is well-stocked. There's Jesus Feliciano, who batted .308 with a team-high 157 hits last year at New Orleans, and Cory Sullivan, who hit .320 at Colorado Springs last year and appeared in six postseason games for the Rockies in 2007. That includes a start in center field in Game Three of the World Series against Boston.
Buffalo's third '07 Series alum is Bobby Kielty, whose home run proved to be the decisive run in Boston's Game Four clincher in Denver.
Cooper, Buffalo's modern-era leader in games played (410), will also try to crack the lineup.
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