Nymet31
08-25-2003, 04:57 PM
LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Duncan is beginning to carve out a nice little niche for himself in center field.
Though he is a rookie and still has a few things to learn, he's gained the trust of the Mets starting pitchers, earning their praise and that of manager Art Howe for the way he patrols the outfield.
"Duncan is like Devon White out there," Steve Trachsel said. "He just glides."
Duncan glided under a couple of well-hit balls Saturday night as Trachsel and the New York pen combined to throw a six-hit shutout. The 6-foot-2 Illinois native has struggled with the bat from time to time during several stints with the parent club, but has not had any problems flashing leather.
"He's pretty graceful out there," Howe said. "He makes it look easy. He comes in real well on balls. He has a good feeling for what he's doing. He takes a good route to the ball."
Duncan, 24, said he really couldn't point to anyone in particular for his early defensive development, adding that it's mostly a combination of natural ability and hard work. He didn't play center field regularly until he was a junior or senior in high school and even then it was mostly his dad hitting him fly balls to keep him sharp.
When Duncan went to Arizona State, though, he said outfield coach Jeff Sferra had an influence on him. Sferra preached taking fly balls in batting practice, a drill Duncan still performs today.
"He made me a better outfielder," Duncan said. "And here [outfield coach] Gary [Pettis] has helped out a lot. He's always on me getting me prepared for a game."
Pettis believes Duncan's hitting will eventually catch up to his defense and that because of his speed, Duncan will never stay in a slump too long. While Pettis likes the way Duncan handles himself on the field, he still keeps a very close eye on his protege.
"When it comes to catching a fly ball, he doesn't need a whole lot of work in that area," Pettis said. "My concern is whether he will make the right decision in order to keep the doubleplay in order. If he sees a guy trying to go from first to third will he think he has to throw that guy out [and lose the doubleplay]? But right now he's done a good job."
Duncan said he doesn't try to pattern himself after anyone but he began drawing comparisons to Steve Finley when he was in high school and college. He has followed Finley's career closely and got a chance to speak with him two weeks ago when the Mets were in Arizona.
"We're from the same area in southern Illinois so we talked," Duncan said. "I told him that I respected him and enjoyed watching him play. It was cool. He's a class guy. I like how he carries himself on and off the field. He's a good influence on other people."
Coincidentally, Duncan said Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix has proven to be the toughest park in which to play center field because the ball carries well, the outfield is big and there are some structures hanging over the outfield.
"I think to compare him to anyone right now would be an injustice to him," Pettis said. "He hasn't had enough time to show what he can do. I wouldn't compare him to Devon or Finley just yet. But he is a very good outfielder."
As the rotation turns: The Mets rotation has been twisting and turning like the wind recently as Howe tries to maneuver and matchup. So, it wasn't surprising that Howe made another switch in the rotation Sunday, announcing that Aaron Heilman would go Wednesday in Atlanta instead of Al Leiter. Everyone in the rotation will be pushed back a day with Leiter now slated to go on Thursday against the Braves.
"It will be beneficial for Al and his [right] hamstring," Howe said. "It will give everyone another day and this is the last chance to do that. There's no sense pushing the envelope with Al when we have this opportunity."
Heilman will have gone a week between starts with his last start coming Aug. 20 in San Diego.
Grant looks good: Grant Roberts pitched 1 2/3 solid innings of relief before turning things over to John Franco Sunday night. Franco earned his second save of the year but Roberts earned some points with the skipper retiring all five batters he faced. It was particularly noteworthy considering Roberts suffered a loss in his last outing, blowing a game in the ninth inning at San Diego.
Roberts got Rickey Henderson to ground out to short to start the ninth inning, marking the first time he had ever faced the stolen-base king. Henderson swung at the first pitch.
"I was kind of surprised he did that," Roberts said. "I thought he would have worked it more."
Minor notes: Despite Saturday's loss to Mahoning Valley, Class A Brooklyn remains in first place in the New York-Penn League's McNamara Division. The Cyclones hold a three-game lead over Williamsport with 11 games remaining. ... The St. Lucie Mets, New York's affiliate in the Class A Florida State League, remain in first place in the East Division after defeating Daytona on Saturday. The Mets hold a seven-game lead over Jupiter, which won the first-half title. St. Lucie placed five on the 21-man FSL All-Star team. Third baseman David Wright, second baseman Chase Lambin, outfielder Wayne Lydon and catcher Justin Huber, since promoted to Double-A Binghamton, earned laurels as did manager Ken Oberkfell. ... Triple-A Norfolk's Orber Moreno pitched two scoreless innings of relief Saturday night, earning a victory over Charlotte to improve to 5-0.
Mets site
This and that: Jay Bell got a rare start at third base Sunday. Howe said that with Monday's off day it would be good for Ty Wigginton to have two consecutive days off. Bell was also hitting .359 with two homers in his career against Dodgers starter Kevin Brown. ... Prentice Redman said he wasn't really paying attention to whether or not he would be called up from Norfolk. But he was brought back on Saturday when Joe McEwing flew to be with his wife and new son. "I was just worrying about trying to get my numbers up," said Redman, who was hitting .258 with the Tides. "I'm not satisfied with my season. I could have done better. I wasn't swinging the bat like I normally do. I was just starting to swing the bat better after the All-Star break." Redman was hitting .309 in 21 August games. Redman made his Major League debut in the ninth inning, pinch-running for Bell.
Though he is a rookie and still has a few things to learn, he's gained the trust of the Mets starting pitchers, earning their praise and that of manager Art Howe for the way he patrols the outfield.
"Duncan is like Devon White out there," Steve Trachsel said. "He just glides."
Duncan glided under a couple of well-hit balls Saturday night as Trachsel and the New York pen combined to throw a six-hit shutout. The 6-foot-2 Illinois native has struggled with the bat from time to time during several stints with the parent club, but has not had any problems flashing leather.
"He's pretty graceful out there," Howe said. "He makes it look easy. He comes in real well on balls. He has a good feeling for what he's doing. He takes a good route to the ball."
Duncan, 24, said he really couldn't point to anyone in particular for his early defensive development, adding that it's mostly a combination of natural ability and hard work. He didn't play center field regularly until he was a junior or senior in high school and even then it was mostly his dad hitting him fly balls to keep him sharp.
When Duncan went to Arizona State, though, he said outfield coach Jeff Sferra had an influence on him. Sferra preached taking fly balls in batting practice, a drill Duncan still performs today.
"He made me a better outfielder," Duncan said. "And here [outfield coach] Gary [Pettis] has helped out a lot. He's always on me getting me prepared for a game."
Pettis believes Duncan's hitting will eventually catch up to his defense and that because of his speed, Duncan will never stay in a slump too long. While Pettis likes the way Duncan handles himself on the field, he still keeps a very close eye on his protege.
"When it comes to catching a fly ball, he doesn't need a whole lot of work in that area," Pettis said. "My concern is whether he will make the right decision in order to keep the doubleplay in order. If he sees a guy trying to go from first to third will he think he has to throw that guy out [and lose the doubleplay]? But right now he's done a good job."
Duncan said he doesn't try to pattern himself after anyone but he began drawing comparisons to Steve Finley when he was in high school and college. He has followed Finley's career closely and got a chance to speak with him two weeks ago when the Mets were in Arizona.
"We're from the same area in southern Illinois so we talked," Duncan said. "I told him that I respected him and enjoyed watching him play. It was cool. He's a class guy. I like how he carries himself on and off the field. He's a good influence on other people."
Coincidentally, Duncan said Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix has proven to be the toughest park in which to play center field because the ball carries well, the outfield is big and there are some structures hanging over the outfield.
"I think to compare him to anyone right now would be an injustice to him," Pettis said. "He hasn't had enough time to show what he can do. I wouldn't compare him to Devon or Finley just yet. But he is a very good outfielder."
As the rotation turns: The Mets rotation has been twisting and turning like the wind recently as Howe tries to maneuver and matchup. So, it wasn't surprising that Howe made another switch in the rotation Sunday, announcing that Aaron Heilman would go Wednesday in Atlanta instead of Al Leiter. Everyone in the rotation will be pushed back a day with Leiter now slated to go on Thursday against the Braves.
"It will be beneficial for Al and his [right] hamstring," Howe said. "It will give everyone another day and this is the last chance to do that. There's no sense pushing the envelope with Al when we have this opportunity."
Heilman will have gone a week between starts with his last start coming Aug. 20 in San Diego.
Grant looks good: Grant Roberts pitched 1 2/3 solid innings of relief before turning things over to John Franco Sunday night. Franco earned his second save of the year but Roberts earned some points with the skipper retiring all five batters he faced. It was particularly noteworthy considering Roberts suffered a loss in his last outing, blowing a game in the ninth inning at San Diego.
Roberts got Rickey Henderson to ground out to short to start the ninth inning, marking the first time he had ever faced the stolen-base king. Henderson swung at the first pitch.
"I was kind of surprised he did that," Roberts said. "I thought he would have worked it more."
Minor notes: Despite Saturday's loss to Mahoning Valley, Class A Brooklyn remains in first place in the New York-Penn League's McNamara Division. The Cyclones hold a three-game lead over Williamsport with 11 games remaining. ... The St. Lucie Mets, New York's affiliate in the Class A Florida State League, remain in first place in the East Division after defeating Daytona on Saturday. The Mets hold a seven-game lead over Jupiter, which won the first-half title. St. Lucie placed five on the 21-man FSL All-Star team. Third baseman David Wright, second baseman Chase Lambin, outfielder Wayne Lydon and catcher Justin Huber, since promoted to Double-A Binghamton, earned laurels as did manager Ken Oberkfell. ... Triple-A Norfolk's Orber Moreno pitched two scoreless innings of relief Saturday night, earning a victory over Charlotte to improve to 5-0.
Mets site
This and that: Jay Bell got a rare start at third base Sunday. Howe said that with Monday's off day it would be good for Ty Wigginton to have two consecutive days off. Bell was also hitting .359 with two homers in his career against Dodgers starter Kevin Brown. ... Prentice Redman said he wasn't really paying attention to whether or not he would be called up from Norfolk. But he was brought back on Saturday when Joe McEwing flew to be with his wife and new son. "I was just worrying about trying to get my numbers up," said Redman, who was hitting .258 with the Tides. "I'm not satisfied with my season. I could have done better. I wasn't swinging the bat like I normally do. I was just starting to swing the bat better after the All-Star break." Redman was hitting .309 in 21 August games. Redman made his Major League debut in the ninth inning, pinch-running for Bell.