Mark Melancon gets it
ByThis quote from the Yanks’ uber-relief prospect following Triple-A Scranton’s 2-0 win over Buffalo yesterday is just too good. Via Chad Jennings:
“The game of baseball is challenging,” [Melancon] said. “It’s really the game, it’s not the opponents. It’s getting strike one. It’s getting the first out. It’s throwing to the glove. Obviously I’m giving respect to the hitters but at the same time, if you locate the ball it really does not matter who’s up there. You know, sometimes guys are going to get a good pitch and hit it far, but you can’t worry about that. You have to worry about what you can control, and that’s throwing my pitches well.”
I mean, wow. Could he have said it any better?
We’ve been hearing how great Melancon’s makeup is since he was drafted, and that quote shows it. The 23-yr old from Colorado has come back from Tommy John surgery better than anyone could have expected, and has put himself in a position to be a factor out of the Yanks’ pen as soon as next April. He’ll be a fan favorite rather quickly.
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Best compliment of him I’ve heard is that he has the jeter/mariano gene.
He’s very impressive with his make up. I think Melancon has a bright future here with the yanks. You can have all the stuff in the world but it’s the mental part of the game and how you coop wih failure and etc.
Mets can sure use him or Robertson, but who Im kidding, Sherman said their young players are better.
Sherman loves to contradict himself since when the season started he declared the Mets’ system barren. For me, Sherman has now leap-frogged even the despicable Lupica in irrelevant analysis.
Yes, but who’s more smarmy? That’s a tough one, isn’t it?
Murphy and Evans sure do look better than Melky, Gardner and Duncan at this point.
And Pelfrey has 12 more wins than IPK and Hughes combined.
Murphy and Evans look better because their ML careers are shorter than a fruit fly’s. They haven’t been exposed yet.
Remember, Cody Ransom has an OPS+ of 1150 on the year.
So far basically the Anti-IPK when it comes to interviewing with reporters
He can talk the talk….but….can he walk the walk.Here’s hoping he can.With Mo getting on in age and the Yanks unlikely to pursue K rod,we need another option for closer,perhaps not next year,but soon.
Agree 100%. Have seen too many of the IPSuck threads to start appointing him a spot on the major league team.
Melancon next year could easily be one of those guys that forces himself into a prime time roll, such as the 8th. The yanks might start off next year with the following:
Rivera 9th
Bruney 8th
Veras/Edwar 7th
Marte LOOGY/7th or 8th
Melancon
Robertson
Rasner/Giese long relief
and I could see Melancon quickly pushing himself into a 7th or 8th inning role, toss in that we still have Britton, Alby, Cox potentially ML ready, and then Whelan, Clagget, and Jackson potentially pushing their way up.
Bullpen once again a strength
Rivera 9th
Bruney/Melancon 8th
Veras/Edwar 7th
Robertson
Giese Long relief
I don’t think Marte is coming back and Melancon is a late inning guy, put him in Joba’s 8th and see if he sinks or floats.
from what I saw yesterday, Marte will be back….we haven’t had anyone who could put down lefties like that in a while…..
I agree, they want a lefty, and Marte is one of the best, 6M option isn’t soo bad, and they could always trade him if they saw fit.
there is no chance Marte doesnt come back. they’ve been lusting over him for years. now that they have him, they arent going to not picking up his option for next season.
i would actually think Veras works the 8th over Bruney, but i guess they are rather interchangeable.
I figured Bruney had the 8th before he got hurt, of course Veras hadn’t pitched like he is now to that point so they really could swap
i mean the 7th, Joba had the 8th, and I believe Bruney had the 8th when Joba was with his father
swoon
lol, maybe he breaks in like Mo did, doing the 7th and 8th innings in fronty of a top flight closer and we”ll go 86-3 when leading after 6 innings or something like whatever it was in 96 when wetteland and rivera owned life
don’t know if any yankee reliever will throw 100+ innings out of a major league bullpen ever again
OMG!!!!! http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/.....id=3552159
If this has any truth to it then this is the best possible scenario for the Giants after Osi’s injury.
Yeah, that’s awesome. I’m not a Giants fan, but losing Osi like that really sucked. Here’s hoping the G-Men can rally and bring Strahan back on board.
And here’s hoping he’s still in decent game shape, too.
I think this “gets it” is vastly overrated. If you’ve read MLBTR, you might have seen Brian Bannister’s interviews. He “gets it” too, the results don’t show though because he has fringy stuff.
I realize Melancon has pretty good stuff, but I don’t put much weight in “gets it”.
well i think its more about him having a good attitude, saying the right things, it doesn’t necessarily make him a better baseball player, but it does make him less of a target for the media when he speaks. Especially in light of some of the things IPK has said
It’s not necessarily about just “getting it”, but it’s a big piece. There is a lot to be said for being calm, cool, and collected in a tense situation
Looks like Melancon is pretty smart lol, can’t wait to see him in the majors.
Isnt sanchez gonna be ready by next year?
for majors? I suspect he’ll be in AAA next season. If he pitches well, maybe he becomes an option for injury replacement sometimes mid season.
Sanchez’s career so far is anticipating his return in June of the next season.
Humberto is the eternal rehabber.
our bullpen should be great for years to come. as long as we somehow find someone to replace rivera.
Great for years to come?
Whos ready to annoint Robertson, Bruney and Ramirez as sure things for years to come??
This kid is producing but hes coming off major surgery and the Yankee prospect hype machine is a huge negative.
Mike A…
Great quote from Mark, but the best thing about it is…that’s exactly how he pitches. Command and control with good (not even great) stuff, is the answer to 4/5ths of a good pitcher, the rest is mental. 27/08??
I always thought that 90% of the game was half mental.
thanks, Yogi……do you want this pizza cut in 6 slices or 8?
Eight slices, please! That way, I get more pizza!
You’re half right! 27/08??