July 25, 2012, New York Mets demote Lucas Duda to Triple-A Buffalo sidebar for Metro Newspaper in NYC
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MARC SEROTA/GETTY IMAGES
Lucas Duda.
The Mets were losing both games and bodies, and Lucas Duda was not
compiling the kind of offensive numbers to continue to justify a spot
in the lineup.
Duda and reliever Pedro Beato were both optioned to Triple-A Buffalo to
make room for Matt Harvey and Manny Acosta yesterday. Duda was not in
the clubhouse Tuesday, but his jersey was hanging in his locker.
Duda was hitting .241 with 12 home runs, 44 RBI and 37 runs scored for
the season. However, he was just 6-for-43 with five runs scored, a homer
and an RBI in July. His swoon mirrors that of the Mets, who entered
Tuesday night’s game against NL East-leading Washington 4-13 this month.
The Mets had lost four in a row and 10-of-11.
“A lot of us were against the idea in the beginning,” Collins said in
his pre-game press conference. “But we’ve got to get it done and we’ve
got to start winning baseball games.”
Duda, a natural first baseman and left fielder, had been playing right
field this season. Collins felt that Duda’s discomfort in right field
affected his hitting. He was routinely being beaten by pitches low and
outside. Duda’s last multi-hit game was in a 9-0 win over the Dodgers on
June 29. He went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
“I’m responsible for it by putting him in right field. He’s playing out
of position. He’s doing an absolutely great job,” Collins said. “But
he’s here to hit. He’s not hitting and we’ve got to get it fixed.
“Knowing Lucas Duda, there was probably some thoughts of, ‘I really have
to hit; I have to hit homers,’” Collins said. “What we’ve seen the last
month is not the Lucas Duda we know. Everything was pull, pull, pull
and that’s not the kind of hitter he was.”
Duda will play first base and left field in Buffalo. A call-up later in
the season could present tricky waters for the manager to navigate. Ike
Davis is the everyday first baseman and Jason Bay is the starting left
fielder despite his .186 batting average. He has five homers and eight
RBI in 30 games.
“I told him we were going to put [him] back where he was comfortable,
see if that gets him where he can concentrate on his offense. That’s
what’s going to get him back here,” Collins said. “I just hope Lucas
goes down, tears it up and gets back here. Then we’ll figure out where
he’s [going to] play.
“If he goes down there and plays left field [comfortably], and Jason Bay
is swinging the bat, we’ll figure it out,” Collins said. “We’ll figure
it out how to get them both in there.”
The determination to send Duda to Buffalo is fascinating because when
Davis began the year hitting under .200, organizational decision-makers
decided to keep the first baseman with the major league club. Davis is
hitting just .208 for the season, but his 15 home runs is tied with
David Wright for the team lead and his 55 RBI is second-most behind the
third baseman’s 67.
“[We] were playing [well],” Collins said about the rationale. “[Davis]
was not hurting us with his performance, as a team. Lucas has really
been struggling lately. He has to find that stroke that he had when he
first got here.”
http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1148408--duda-ends-up-odd-man-out-for-mets
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 8:33 AM
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