I hate LOSING to the Yankees!  I just hate it.  I am going to have to listen to their fans call Mike and the Mad Dog all week.  I hate that the Mets are playing crappy baseball.  I hate the fact that the Mets don’t have good at bats.  I hate the fact that when they are not leading in a game, it almost always seems like you know they won’t come from behind to win.  I hate the fact that they have very little fire, I loved what we saw out of Manual/Beltran earlier in the week, but that didn’t carry over.  There is no one on this team to carry them.  Delgado had nine RBI in the afternoon game Friday, but hasn’t done squat in the other two games of the series.  It just gets old, day after day watching the Mets play like this.  There is no more saying it is still early, they’ve fired their manager, they should fire their hitting coach-especially if jobs are based on performance or how those you are coaching are performing. 

The Mets scored their two runs on homers by Ramon Castro and David Wright.  They left five guys on base and both Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran were 0-4 on the day.  Beltran stuck out four times today, it was only the second time in his carreer that he struck out four times in one game.  The last time that happened to him was when he was with the Royals and it was in a game against the Yankees.   

The Mets have got to play better!  Wright was very nonchalant as he fielded a ball that Alex Rodriquez hit in the top of the eighth; Wright’s throw pulled Delgado off the bag, as a result he was charged with an error.  However, looking at the replay it looked like ARod was actually out.  It wasn’t just that, Jose Reyes got picked off by Andy Pettitte just before the rain delay.  I know that Jerry Manual wants the guys to play more aggressive, but Reyes should have done a better job there. 

Johan Santana pitched well, if it wasn’t for the rain delay, maybe he would have gone deeper in the game, in his six innings of work he gave up three runs on four hits, allowing four walks, one intentional, while recording 8 strikeouts.  Two of those walks came in the top of the fourth, and both of those runners would score.  I do think it is worth mentioning that Santana was squeezed by the home plate umpire in that inning, both Jerry Manual and Santana expressed displeasure with the umps strike zone that at times was minuscule. 

The Mets should have Ryan Church back tomorrow.  The Mets have been without him for a month and his bat has been sorely missed.  Church was arguably the MVP of the team when he went down in that game against Atlanta, he has missed an entire month of baseball and it is all because the Mets didn’t handle his situation well.  When Church got hurt, he was hitting .300 with 10 homeruns and 35 RBI.  The Mets have really missed his bat.  Speaking of guys on the DL, Manual said today in his pregame radio interview that Moises Alou just might be back for the Philadelphia series.  Of course, they are going to take it slow with Alou, they don’t want to push it. 

Sunday’s game is scheduled for a 1:10 start.  Mets fans might be in for a long day.  Oliver Perez is on the mound, he didn’t fare too well in his last outing against the Mariners when he gave up 5 earned runs in his 5 innings of work.  I have to say, I feel bad always picking on Oliver because he really doesn’t seem like a bad guy.  He is always really great in his postgame interviews.  He really has not handled the pressure of pitching for a contract.  Anyway, Perez seems to find a way to pitch well for the Mets when they face stellar opposition in big games so I guess we’ll see what happens. 

Mets Blog

The New York Mets beat the Arizona Diamondback’s 5-3 in 13 innings on Wednesday night stopping a five game losing streak.  Because the Braves lost to the Cubs and the Marlins beat the Phillies, the Mets gained a game in the standings and now sit just 6.5 games out of first.   

The Mets scored three early off Diamondbacks’ starter Brandon Webb.  In the fourth innings, Jose Reyes lead off bunting for a base hit, Luis Castillo singled on a base hit to the pitcher and Reyes advanced to third on the throwing error by Webb.  David Wright was retired on a ground out to third but Carlos Beltran hit a single to center field that scored both Reyes and Castillo.  Beltran advanced to third on a ball hit by Carlos Delgado that was deflected off Brandon Webb.  The ball seemed to hit him in the hip, there was an injury delay but Webb stayed in the game until he was removed for a pinch hitter in the top of the sixth.

Mike Pelfrey had the best outing of his career and left the game after pitching to one hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning.  In 8+ innings of work, Pelfrey had thrown 110 pitches, gave up just 5 hits, with 8 strikeouts, two walks, and one earned run.  That run scored when Billy Wagner gave up a three run homer in the bottom of the ninth.  I felt so bad for Mike Pelfrey when Wagner blew the game.  Pelfrey had caught a lot of heat for some of his pitching performances and rightfully so, but as of late he has had three strong outings, in his last three starts he is pitching to a 1.71 ERA

Billy Wagner had his third blown save of the year, his second in the midst of this losing streak.  With two on and two out, Mark Reynolds hit a three run blast on a fast ball that he took over the center field wall.  That marked that second consecutive blown save by Wagner where he did so by giving up a three run homer.  For the Mets bullpen it was the 13^th homerun that they had given up in 11.2 innings.  However, the rest of the bullpen did their job putting up zeros in extra innings, Pedro Feliciano pitched the 10^th, Aaron Heilman pitched the 11^th and 12^t allowing just one hit and had three strikeouts, and Claudio Vargas pitched the 13^th. 

In the bottom of the 13^th Luis Castillo reached on a fielding error by Mark Reynolds, after fouling off two pitches, Carlos Beltran hit a two run walk off homer to right center.  That hit not only won the game for the Mets but it extended their record to 5-0 in extra innings at Shea Stadium this season. 

Happy Birthday to Jose Reyes, he celebrated his 25^th birthday on Wednesday night.  That was just one night after his 5^th anniversary of his Major League debut.  Also, it looks like I might have overestimated just how long Moises Alou would stay off the DL.  He has apparently reinjured the calf strain, the one that landed him on the DL his last go around.  Anyway, he is scheduled for an MRI today. 

 Johan Santana will be on the mound for the Mets in the rubber game of the series, the Diamondbacks counter with Dan Harren.  First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.  On Friday the Texas Rangers make there way to Shea for a three game interleague series. 

Mets Blog

The New York Mets coming off a terrible weekend opened a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday.  The Mets had John Maine on the mound and Moises Alou back in the lineup.  Early in the day, the Mets held a players only meeting behind closed doors where they discussed their goals for the rest of the season.  They all carried a sheet of paper that is their “blue print” for success.  Written on the paper were some motivational messages like, “team before self”, “We B4 I”, “We have time”.  The Mets plan was to go 62-38, finish with 92 wins and make the playoffs.  However, things didn’t exactly work out for the Mets and their little plan as they dropped the series opener 9-5 and put themselves in the midst of their second five game losing streak of the season.

The Diamondbacks scored first but the Mets came back in the bottom of the inning and scored three runs to take a 3-1 lead.  In the bottom of the second with a runner on base, David Wright hit his 12^th homerun of the season, giving the Mets a 5-1 lead.  That lead would not stay for long as Orland Hundson hit a two run homer in the top of the fifth to cut the Mets lead 5-3. 

John Maine left the game after five innings, giving up five hits, three earned runs, three walks and seven strikeouts; he left the game after five innings because he had thrown 101 pitches.  It has been the same old story for Maine, he leads the majors in the amount of pitches thrown, and he is 30^th in the league in the amount of innings pitched.  John ends up throwing too many pitches early and as a result does not go deep into games.  He doesn’t always make adjustments, or isn’t able to close out innings.  And Tuesday night was no different.

Claudio Vargas was on the mound in relief with a 5-3 lead in the top of the sixth, he walked the lead off man then retired Chris Snyder on a liner to left.  With one and and one on, Justin Upton was hit by a pitch, and a grounder by Jeff Salazar allowed the runners to advance a base; both would score on Augie Ojeda singler that just made it past the glove of a diving Carlos Delgado and rolled into right field.  Ojeda would take second on Endy Chavez’s throw to home, but was stranded there when Vargas retired Chris Young to end the inning.

There was some excitement when in the top of the seventh inning, the weather worsened and the Umps suspended play, Billy Wagner and Scott Schoeneweis came out of the bullpen to help the grounds crew secure the tarp on the field.  All I could think, as nice as it was that they helped out, I figured one of them would end up breaking a finger or spraining their ankle.  Luckily though, the tarp went down without injury and the Mets were on a rain delay for about an hour.  After the rain delay, Joe Smith gave up a homerun to Chris Snyder in the top of the eighth to give the Diamondbacks a 6-5 lead.  The Diamondbacks would hit two homers off Duaner Sanchez in the top of the ninth to make it 9-5.  It should be noted that when Rick Pederson visited the mound in the ninth and when Willie Randolph came to the mound to remove Sanchez from the game, they were both booed. 

As I mentioned before, Alou finally returned to the Mets line up after missing 18 games with a strained right calf.  The Mets are playing their 63^rd game of the season and Moises Alou has played in 15 of them. Judging by this, he should be hurt again by Saturday.  Seriously though, Alou hit the first pitch he saw and drove in two runs.  For the night Alou was 1-2 with 2 RBI.  After the rain delay, he was replaced by Damion Easley because of stiffness in his calf.  Marlon Anderson also came off the DL and pinch hit in the bottom of the seventh.      

 The Mets placed Ryan Church on the DL retroactive to last Friday.  It is thought that he should be able to join the team when they return to Colorado at the end of June.  This whole thing has been a mess and handled so poorly.  Church will not be allowed to resume any baseball activity until he is 100% symptom free, and according to Mets brass, they will make their decision solely on medical advice of Church’s neurologist.  Great, only took them three weeks to figure out what to do.  Consider this, Moises Alou had talked his way off the DL and into the starting line up last weekend during the Padres series, but the Mets waited until Tuesday to allow him to play because they wanted to be “cautious.”   I don’t know if that is an example that the Mets realize that Alou is made of glass or if they really just didn’t pay attention to what was happening with Church but you really have to do a better job than that.  If they had paid closer attention to Church’s condition, maybe he would not be going through this right now.       

Also, I know that it is still technically early, and that headed into play Tuesday night there were 100 games left in the season, but dating back to exactly on year ago the Mets are now 82-82.  There is no reason to believe that the Mets are going to pick it up any time soon and turn this around.  I love the fact that the manager Willie Randolph says that there are still 100 games left to play.  I am sick of hearing that there is a lot of baseball left to play.  What will the excuse be when there are only 81 games left in the season?  Is that still a lot of baseball left to play?  Or, how about last year with 17 games to play, was that a lot less baseball left to play?  Yes, so your point is that the Mets can turn this around.  Funny though, we were saying to ourselves in September there are only 17 games to go, the Mets can’t possibly blow this.  The Mets are not playing well now, they haven’t played well in a whole year, and the fact that it just keeps getting worse, isn’t lost on anyone.  People can clamor all they want about it isn’t Willies fault, or that there is still 100 games to go, but time is running out and the longer the Mets let this go, the harder it will be to over come.  If I was Willie I would be really annoyed by the fact that once the Mets had the lead then went on cruise control.  I don’t know if they have this false sense of security or maybe it is a sense of entitlement, whatever it is, they need to stay in the game, and play the whole game.   

The Mets continue the series with the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, Mike Pelfrey will pitch for the Mets and the Diamondbacks will have Brandon Webb on the mound.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

Mets Blog

The New York Mets dropped their second game to the San Diego Padres 2-1 on Friday night.  The Mets offense was absent, as they went 1-5 with runners in scoring positions, leaving the bases loaded twice.  However, it should be noted that the Padres also made some great defensive plays that kept the Mets bats in check. 

Johan Santana started for the Mets last night, giving up seven hits over six innings, two runs, one earned, with five strike outs and only one walk.  However, it was Santana’s throwing error that lead to a run in the bottom of the sixth.  I know it is going to sound like I am bagging on Santana, but it seems like a few too many times we’ve seen him get the lead in one half of the inning and then come back in and give it up.  Granted, Santana got no help from his team’s offense last night, and I know everyone says he has always been better in the second half.  But, while he has been good, he isn’t a good as I thought he would be.  Sometimes I wonder if the expectations exceed what he is actually capable of accomplishing.  

The Mets lone run of the night came in the top of the sixth inning; it was Johan Santana who scored the run.  Santana reached base on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a base hit up the middle by Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo hit a single to right that would move the runners, with the bases loaded David Wright drove a fast ball to deep center field that Scott Hairston made an amazing play on, it was called a sac fly but that would have been a Grand Slam anywhere else.  The Mets would leave the bases loaded as Damion Easley grounded weakly to short to end the inning. 

On a side note, could Luis Castillo hustle, even a little bit?  He was embarrassed in the bottom of the first inning when he casually played a ground ball, the runner was hustling, he was not, and the runner was safe at first.  While it didn’t cost the Mets a run, it is frustrating to see a guy play like that, especially when you are stuck with the guy for at least two years. 

Ryan Church did not play again Friday night, and although he did not comment on why he was he wasn’t even available to pinch hit, someone from the Mets clubhouse mentioned that Church is still suffering from vertigo.  When Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen were talking about Chruch during the telecast, they mentioned that some thing isn’t right with Church and that you can tell when you talk to him that he isn’t himself.  The Mets are taking the approach that they have done the right thing here, but maybe it is time for Church to go on the DL and get him well, and back on track.  The Mets miss him in the line up, but he has to be healthy.

Losing these two games to the Padres is a bad job by the Mets.  The Padres are the worst team in the National League and on a weekend when the Braves and the Phillies are beating up on each other the Mets could really capitalize with some wins and improve their standing in the NL East.  Mets better get it together, because we know how quickly things take a nose dive for them. 

The Mets and Padres play again Saturday, first pitch is scheduled for 10:05 p.m.  Oliver Perez will pitch for the Mets; he is coming off a horrendous against the Giants, Perez managed to record only one out before he had to leave the game after giving up 6 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks.  Hopefully he’ll pitch a little better tonight because the Mets need to win this game.  The Padres will send Cha Seung Baek to the mound; he is 1-2 with a 5.60 era.    

Mets Blog

The New York Mets in unlikely fashion beat the Florida Marlins 7-6 in a 12 inning game in which the Mets came from behind not once, but twice to win.  For a second game, Personal Relations Director Jay Horowitz donned a hideous orange jacket.  Horowitz first wore the jacket on Tuesday night, and it seems will have to wear it until the Mets lose, let’s hope he is wearing that jacket for a long time!  The jacket is a leftover from Jeromey Burnitz era and has often been worn by Pedro Martinez as a club house joke.  Well, the luck it has brought the Mets the last two nights isn’t a joke, for the second night in a row the Mets not only notched a win, but they actually looked better as a team.   

The Mets jumped out to an early lead against Marlin’s starter Scott Olson on Luis Castillo’s two run homer in the bottom of the first inning.  The Mets would tack on another run in the bottom of the fourth on a sac fly by Fernando Tatis.  In the bottom of the fifth Jose Reyes would extend the Mets lead with his seventh homerun of the season.  Reyes extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and has safely reached base in 28 consecutive games.   

The Mets had a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning when Oliver Perez seemed to just lose his concentration.  Although Perez had allowed two homeruns earlier in the evening he had been pitching well, but in the sixth inning with one out, Perez walked Wes Helms; Dan Uggla hit a ball that David Wright was unable to make a play on.  So, with two on and one out Cody Ross came to the plate with one homerun under his belt and on a 2-1 count Ross hit his second home run of the game, a line drive to left field, the Marlins would take the lead 5-4. 

At that point, we knew that the Mets were 1-19 when they trailed in the 6^th inning, however, unlike those other games, the Mets didn’t give up.  They got excellent pitching the rest of the way, and in the bottom of the ninth inning, Endy Chavez came to the plate pinch hitting for Ramon Castro and tied the game with homerun to right field sending the game into extra innings. 

The Mets got great pitching the rest of the way, Scott Schoeneweis put up 0’s.  Aaron Heilman who is suddenly the Renaissance man, was dominant in his two innings of work he didn’t give up a hit and had four strikeouts. After pitching the ninth inning on Tuesday night, Billy Wagner pitched in the 10^th  and recoreded two strikeouts.  Duaner Sanchez pitched the eleventh, and actually had an at bat in the bottom of the inning recording a sac bunt.  After leaving a runner is scoring position in the bottom of the 11^th the Mets looked as if they might be in trouble in the top of the 12th when Alfredo Amezaga took Sanchez deep, giving the Marlins the lead 6-5.  But, the Mets would not be deterred this time, with the heart of the order due up to lead off the bottom of the 12^th, David Wright walked to start  the inning and Carlos Beltran hit a single to left that advanced Wright to third.  Damion Easley came up and struck out swinging, up next was Fernando Tatis who was playing for the injured Ryan Church, and he came through for the Mets hitting a rocket down the left field line that allowed both Wright and Beltran to score and the Met to win the game. 

It was great to watch the guys celebrate the victory, the guys rushed out of the dugout to greet Wright, Beltran and Tatis, jumping and pounding on each other, it was great to see them celebrate.  The Mets have had a long arduous season thus far and you really got the feeling that as much as they were elated with the victory, getting a come from behind win like that in extra innings, at least for one night, got the monkey off their backs.  It was a great game and the Mets played well.  

The Mets got good news regarding Pedro Martinez and his first rehab start.  Pitching in Port St. Lucie, Pedro threw 82 pitches, 63 of which were strikes, he gave up 4 hits and two earned runs-everything came in the fourth inning in the 2-1 loss to Vero Beach.  Pedro is scheduled to pitch for the Mets Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants.

Mets got not so great news about Ryan Church. Church visited a neurologist after suffering ill affects from a concussion he sustained in a game against the Braves.  Church has been told that he must rest and he has to avoid light.  Church has also been instructed that he has to be symptom free for 48 hours before he can resume baseball activity. 

The Mets open up a series against the Los Angels, Brad Penny will pitch for the Dodger and the Mets will counter with Claudio Vargas.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.   

Mets Blog

The New York Mets lost the first game of a three game series to the Colorado Rockies 6-5 in 13 innings Friday night.  The Mets have now lost five games in a row and have fallen two games under .500.  

Oliver Perez was his usual head case self, he pitched five innings, giving up four runs on six hits, eight walks, yes your read that right, eight walks and two strikeouts.  He was more the Oliver Perez we saw against the Pirates rather than the Oliver Perez we saw Sunday against the Yankees.  What is with this guy?  When he is on, his stuff is great, but you never know which Oliver Perez you are going to get.  Eight walks? 

Aaron Heilman continues to struggle.  I just don’t know what they are going to do with this guy.  It seems like every time he pitches he gives up runs.  His era is now 6.29.  In 24 1/3 innings he has given up 27 hits, 21 runs, 17 of which were earned, 13 walks, and 21 strikeouts.  Is he still thinking he can be a starter? Who knows what is going on with this guy, but things are not going to get any easier for him, especially if the Mets don’t start winning some games.  If he thinks the fans have been brutal thus far, there is still a lot of ball left to play and things will get even tougher, not only for him but for the whole team. 

It was Billy Wagner who let this one get away.  We knew it was a matter of time before he really blew one but too bad it happened when the Mets were two outs away from ending their losing streak.  Wagner worked two innings; he struggled in the ninth giving up three hits, and one run, that was the homerun to Matt Holliday which tied the game.  Wagner did work a 1-2-3 tenth inning though.   

The Mets scored five runs off ten hits.  Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis hit back to back homers in the sixth, in fact Delgado had two hits last night to raise his average to a whopping .222, good job Carlos, you’re hot now!  David Wright was 0-6 with three strikeouts and Carlos Beltran was 0-5 with one walk.  The heart of the order is really struggling right now; hopefully getting Ryan Church back in will help some. 

I know that Omar Minaya was in Colorado and reiterated to the press that Randolph is the manager, but how much longer can they keep him?  I am not advocating for someone to get fired, but when you are the head of a team, you are the “boss” and when your team isn’t performing, you have to take some of the blame.  Willie has lost the team.  I had the same discussion this year during football season.  My beloved Huskers struggled in a year when they were supposed to be really good and after a game in which the Huskers turned in an dreadful, uninspired performance where they were outplayed like the Mets were out played earlier this week, we knew that Bill Callahan had to go.  Bill had lost the team, he could no longer lead, and of course, ultimately he did lose his job.  How long can the Mets let this go on?  How many losses?  We’re at five and counting.  This mediocrity has gone on for a year.  We can’t overlook the good things that have happened since Willie took over; the Mets have had a winning record and they did go to the playoffs, but you also can’t overlook the disastrous ending to last season.  I don’t care what the players say, it has carried over.  Every day this goes on the Mets will fall further out of contention, they have to get this fixed before they find themselves in a hole that they can not climb out,  they have too big a payroll to be a .500 teams over 180 games. 

Ryan Church was scratched from the line up last night as he said the flight did not agree with him, he was hoping to be in the line up this afternoon.  Marlon Anderson left the game with a pulled hamstring and it looks like he will have to go on the DL. 

The Mets will send Caludio Vargas to the hill this afternoon and he will be opposed by Jeff Francis.  The game is scheduled for 3:55 start. 

Mets Blog  

Just when you think the Mets hit their low point last week after losing three of four against the Washington Nationals, you realize that apparently they still had further to fall.  The Mets hit a new low on Thursday night after the Atlanta Braves completed a four game sweep of the Mets.  Chipper Jones is hitting .412 against the Mets this season and at Turner Field, the Mets are 0-6 so far this season and have been outscored 51-14 in those six games. 

 The Mets are now under .500 and seem as if they are on a downward spiral that you can’t imagine where they might end up.  What was very apparent watching the way the Braves play in these four games was that the Braves hustle, they play hard and they finish.  We have not seen that kind of play from the Mets, in fact it seems that they are too often nonchalant.  Uh funny when I hear that word Luis Castillo flashes across my mind, and Jose Reyes is starting to get there too.    

The Mets played the most uninspired baseball.  Is this the same team that took on the Yankees last weekend?  Watching them last night, it is hard to believe that Willie Randolph will be at the helm of this sinking ship for much longer.  I’m not sure how the Mets can keep him especially after his comments last week.  The team has not responded, and they certainly did nothing to show that they had his back these past four games in Atlanta.  For whatever reason, he seems to have lost this team.  The only consistency this team has been able to sustain is playing poorly.  

Johan Santana gave up a career high 12 hits.  He was not sharp, but he also did not get the help he needed from his defense either.  The Mets defense looked like it might be an issue early on with Marlon Anderson in left field for the ailing Moises Alou.  However, Anderson wasn’t the offender of poor play-that was reserved for the starters-David Wright, Brian Schneider, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran.  The Mets can’t complain about not getting breaks in the game last night, you make your own luck, only last night it looked like they wanted to help the luck of the Braves.  Was there a lack of concentration there?   

You know how each year there is a guy on your team who drives you crazy?  A guy you don’t like much but you feel like you have to root from him because he is on your team?  Well, that is how I feel about Luis Castillo. When I watch him the word lazy keeps coming to mind.  Maybe that isn’t fair given the situation with his knees, but it is his body language that gets me.  That play he made-or failed to make last night was so frustrating, at first I thought maybe he didn’t have time to go to first, but when I saw the replays he had plenty of time, he never even thought about going to first, he was thinking of making a sports center highlight. That makes two games in a row that you can look at him for one play that really changes the game.  I just don’t like his style of play, and I think from what has been said here in the NY press, that he is rubbing off on Jose Reyes.  The problem is the Mets are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.  They are not playing hard, they are not playing smart.  

The Carloses hit back to back homers in the second, but those were the only runs the Mets would score.  The Mets had some chances later in the game, but Luis Castillo hit into a double play to end the threat in the eight.  And David Wright was doubled off first when Carlos Beltran hit a bullet to second baseman Kelly Johnson and Wright was too far of first to get back in time.

Ryan Church pinch hit in last nights game and is scheduled to play Friday night against the Rockies.  However, the Mets placed Moises Alou on the DL with a calf strain and recalled catcher Raul Casanova to take his place on the active roster.   

So the Mets now head off to Colorado, under .500 for the first time since early April.  Oliver Perez will pitch for the Mets and Greg Reynolds will pitch for the Rockies.  First pitch is schedules for 9:05 p.m.    

 Mets Blog 

The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 on Tuesday night in extra innings.  On a night when one would expect the story to be about Johan Santana, Tuesday was all about the Mets offense.  The Pirates tied the game in the top of the ninth, taking it to extra innings.  David Wright came through for the Mets.  After going 0-4 on the night, Wright came up in the bottom of the eleventh with the bases loaded, hit the first pitch to right, and it just stayed fair;  Endy Chavez scored from third and like that the Mets won 5-4 to make it three in a row. 

The Mets got on the board in the fourth on a two run homer by Ryan Church.  In the fifth, the Mets looked poised to have a big inning.  Endy Chavez led off with a single and would score on a Jose Reyes triple.  Luis Castillo would walk, and Reyes scored on an error by second baseman Freddy Sanchez.  Sanchez’s error allowed David Wright to reach base and Carlos Beltran walked to load the bases.  The Pirates changed pitchers and Damaso Marte settled in striking out both Ryan Church and Carlos Delgado to end the Mets’ threat.  If you saw the game, you would know that it was a questionable called third strike on Church, who actually jumped up and down and had a few choice words for the home plate umpire. 

Things are looking up for the Mets at the top of the order. Jose Reyes was on base six times tonight going 3-3.  He had two singles, a triple, and three walks, one of them intentional which came in the eleventh.   In the first inning, Reyes was caught stealing for the third time this season; however, in the seventh inning, after drawing his second walk of the night, he stole second making him 6 of 9 on the season.  In the ninth, he led off with a walk and looked like he might set the table for the Mets come back, but the Mets were unable to capitalize and the game went into extra innings.

 Johan Santana started for the Mets.  Santana struggled a bit, pitching 5 2/3 giving up two runs on two hits, three walks and seven strike outs.  The two runs Santana gave up came on solo home runs.  Santana would not factor in the decision as the Mets bull pen gave up a run in the eight and in the ninth taking the game into extra innings. 

Pedro Feliciano came in to the game in a big spot with the bases loaded in the sixth and got Adam LaRoche to pop out ending the inning.  Duaner Sanchez entered the eight and struggled for the first time after coming back to the Mets, he gave up two hits, two walks, and walked in a run.  Mets fans are hoping it was the cold weather that contributed to Sanchez’s struggle, because after seeing the way Aaron Heilman pitched in the seventh, we are all eager for Sanchez to work his way back to being a dominate setup man for Billy Wagner. 

Wagner gave up his first run of the season, it was unearned as Jose Reyes had an error on a bad throw to first that Delgado could not make a play on, the runner would move up on a past ball and score on a base hit to tie the game at four.  Wagner worked a scoreless tenth. 

After watching Santana give up two home runs and then load the bases in the sixth it got me thinking, Is Santana the best pitcher in baseball?  Is he even the best pitcher in the National league?  That is a valid question when you consider what Brandon Webb has done for the Diamond Backs and what Jake Peavey has accomplished in San Diego.  While Santana does lead the league in strikeouts to walks ratio, we haven’t really seen dominance from him yet.  In fairness, it is still very early in the season, and the Mets haven’t played in many warm weather games.  Again tonight the temperature at game time was in the low 50’s.  Look, I am in no way saying that Santana stinks, what I am merely pointing out is that he hasn’t been dominant.  Being labeled as the best pitcher in baseball, and being the highest paid pitcher in baseball comes with a lot of expectations.

It should be noted that when Carlos Delgado came to bat in the second inning of Tuesday night’s game, the crowd cheered for him.  Delgado went 0-4 on the night leaving three men on base.  The news on Moises Alou is good.  The MRI test results showed that there was no major damage to Alou’s ankle.  The question really is when Alou will be activated.  The Mets clearing a roster spot for him hinges on the prognosis of catcher Brian Schneider who is still in the hospital receiving treatment for a staph infection in his thumb.  If Schneider is unable to play and heads to the DL, Alou will take his roster spot, if Schneider is cleared to play, then the Mets will likely remove back up catcher Gustavo Molina from the active roster.  

 Mets Blog

The New York Mets closed out a weekend series with the Atlanta Braves winning 6-3.  The Mets caught a break as red hot hitter Chipper Jones sat out for a second straight game.  The real story was the Mets offense. 

On a cold day at Shea Stadium, the Mets bats seemed to warm up.  Jose Reyes had been in a 1-25 funk, his batting average falling to .237 with a .265 OBP.  He snapped that when he lead off the first with a double.  He would finish the day with 1-3 with a walk and two strike outs.  Reyes is the catalyst to the Mets offensive production.  Getting Reyes on base seems to be one key to getting the other hitters going.  All in all the Mets would collect 12 hits, 6 of which were for extra bases.  Raul Cassanova (2), Carlos Delgado (2), and David Wright (1) would all record RBI in the win.  

Saturday Mets hitters chased starter Tim Hudson from the game early.  Sunday the Mets did the same to John Smoltz who left the game in the fourth inning.  Having yet allowed a homer this season, Smoltz gave up two in his four innings.  Catcher Raul Cassanova hit a two run shot in the second and Carlos Delgado hit a solo homer to left field in the third.  When Delgado goes the other way good things are sure to follow, as was the case when he hit his second home run of the game in the seventh.  It was a shot to right center that hit half way up the scoreboard.  Delgado had been hearing boos from the Mets fans and refused to come out for a curtain call after he hit his second homer of the day.  The way Delgado has been struggling you would think he would want to bank a little good will with the Mets fans.

New York native Nelson Figueroa took the mound for the Mets.  He was cruising along until the sixth inning when he ran out of steam.  He left the game having pitched 5 1/3 giving up three runs on three hits with three strike outs and three walks.  Joe Smith would enter the game as his replacement and allowed one of the inherited runners to score.  Scott Schoeneweis pitched a scoreless seventh and Pedro Feliciano tossed a scoreless eight.  Feliciano was the eight inning guy because manager Willie Randolph wanted to give Duaner Sanchez a break after pitching back to back games.  Billy Wagner allowed his first hit of the season to Matt Diaz with one out in the ninth, however he retired the next two batters to end the game and record his sixth save of the season. 

It was reported that Moises Alou was close to joining the team.  However, after twisting his ankle in a rehab start, Alou will now be in New York for an MRI because there is concern that his sprain is actually a fracture. If that is the case, the bat the Mets have waiting on is far from joining the line up. 

On Monday the Mets begin a three game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Mets Ace Johan Santana (3-2) is scheduled to start.  He will be opposed by pitcher Ian Snell (2-1).   

 Mets Blog

The New York Mets bounced back Saturday beating the Atlanta Braves 4-3.  Early on it seemed it might be a long day for the Mets when starter John Maine gave up a two out walk and then surrendered an RBI double to Mark Teixeira, however Maine settled in and pitched 5 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks.  Maine recorded a season high 7 strike outs earning his second win of the season. 

The Mets came back from two runs down finally getting some offensive production chasing Braves starter Tim Hudson out of the game in just the third inning.  David Wright snapped a 0-19 slump collecting two hits.  Carlos Beltran hit a double and had 2 RBI in the game.  Ryan Church and Carlos Delgado also each recorded an RBI.  While the Mets did have some offensive success, they still left 8 men on base.  However, it is worth noting that Carlos Delgado had a couple of good at bats-just missing a home run early in the game. 

Aaron Heilman continues to struggle, he pitched one inning giving up two hits and one earned run.  Billy Wagner got his fifth save of the season and has yet to surrender a run.  Catcher Brian Schneider continues to be hospitalized with an infected left thumb.  Moises Alou is still day to day, but it seems he is getting close to joining the team.

The Mets and Braves face off in the rubber game of the series on Sunday afternoon Mets will send Nelson Figueroa (1-1) to the hill and the Braves will counter with John Smoltz (3-1).  

Mets Blog