HITTING STELLAR, BUT KUTZ A DISAPPOINTMENTThe words manager Jerry Manuel spoke Wednesday could have come straight from the Mets' initial evaluation of Eddie Kunz, the one written in 2006 when he still was throwing ground balls for Oregon State, a year before the Mets spent their first selection in the First-Year Player Draft on him.
"He's got great stuff. He's a big guy. His ball moves. It's powerful sink," Manuel said.
Baseball scouts notice movement on pitches as college basketball recruiters notice 6-foot-10 high school freshman. In some cases -- Doug Sisk, Rick Aguilera, Mariano Rivera and Jenrry Mejia to name a few -- the movement is as natural as moss on the north side of a tree. It can't be taught any more than height can be taught. And Eddie Kunz has both, natural movement and height.
At 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, he could be some school's power forward. Instead, he throws a power sinker that seldom makes contact with the sweet spots of bats. Kunz makes his living hitting the bottoms of bats.
After two-plus seasons as a professional, the living he makes is less than he and the Mets had envisioned. Kunz, 24 next month, hasn't progressed as quickly as he and the club had hoped. He made his first appearance in a Spring Training game Wednesday. He had an unremarkable performance in the Mets' 9-5 loss to the Braves, turning Disney into something other than the happiest place on earth for him and his manager.
The credo of the 2010 Mets is "pitching and defense," and within the former, the slogan is "throw strikes." On this chilly, breezy afternoon in Central Florida, they accomplished none of the above. They committed four errors, all in a forgettable five-run rally in the seventh inning that turned the game from 5-4 in their favor to the final score. And though four of the five runs were unearned, four earned in the Braves' seven other turns at bat yields a 5.14 ERA.
Moreover, they walked seven batters, three by Kunz, who retired one of the six batters he faced in the sixth inning. He was charged with the four runs that allowed the Braves to tie the score.
Manuel afforded his pitcher some absolution: "He's not the first young pitcher with problems in his first game of the spring."
But since Kunz became a professional, games beyond the season's first have been challenging in the same way, as the movement that should be his ally becomes an enemy. Walks have become too much a constant. He pitched 61 innings in 40 appearances with the Mets' Triple-A Buffalo affiliate last season. He struck out 38 batters, about what would be expected from a ground-ball pitcher. But he also walked 31, a total that would be expected from Nolan Ryan as a high school freshman.
Kunz characterized his problem Wednesday as "not finishing my pitches." It's not the first time he has been undermined by that problem.
"I've been working to keep my hips moving forward," he said. "When I do that, I throw strikes. When I come up short, I don't finish."
The Mets patiently wait for Kunz. They know what they saw in 2008, when he saved 27 games for their Double-A Binghamton team. They saw enough then to summon him to the big leagues for an under-fire test after their bullpen had disintegrated. Kunz might have taken the eighth-inning job then had he distinguished himself. But his four appearances (2 2/3 innings) produced a 13.50 ERA that stains his numerical resume.
He allowed a home run by Chase Headley of the Padres in his second game, the first home run he had allowed -- college, Minor League and big leagues -- since 2004. He allowed one in Triple-A after he was demoted. Alarmingly, he allowed eight last season.
"It hasn't come as quick as I would have liked," he said Wednesday. "But I'm learning. I'm getting better. Each year I get more comfortable and more confident."
And each year, the Mets are waiting.(Mets.com)
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