The Mets were stellar in the first three games against the Giants, they stole a ton of bases (7 in one game), they hit with runners in scoring position and they even played defense.  Even though Carlos Delgado was placed on the DL (he is expected to be out until July at the earliest), they had plenty offense and were able to win the first three of a four game series. However, the Mets lost the final game of the series and as of last night, were swept three straight by the Dodgers.

The losses against the Dodgers may not have been so bad if the Mets had not played so bad. The Mets looked like buffoons; in game one alone the Mets committed five errors. It was also in that game that we got some insight into the true relationship between Ryan Church and Jerry Manual. Church made the biggest base running blunder of the season when he completely missed third base the Mets would have taken the lead in the top of the 11^th and would have handed the ball off to Frankie Rodriguez, but instead the Dodgers appealed at third and Church was called out. Manual totally threw Church under the bus, he didn’t bother to even argue the call, instead he literally turned his back on him. I for one like Church, but now I feel he probably has to move on considering the relationship between he and the manager.

Lets be honest though, the Mets didn’t just lose that game and the series because Church missed third, the Mets committed a ton of errors and have failed to hit a home run in 60 innings. In the Dodger series the Mets left 26 men on base and were 3-27 with RISP. Suddenly the bats are dead. Not only did the Mets not hit, they also didn’t play defense well either-the committed seven errors in the series, five in one game.

The Mets are in trouble. Manya has said that they will not go out to trade for a first baseman and feels that that position can be filled by who they have on the team right now, but after watching Jeremy Reed there, it is nearly impossible to believe that Omar is watching the same team we are because as FANS we can see that this little experiment isn’t going to work. Daniel Murphy had the opportunity to play first and actually didn’t look as bad there as he does in the outfield, but suddenly this guy’s bat has been very cold.

Not only is first base a concern but so is Sean Green and JJ Putz. Putz gave up the winning run in the last game of the Dodger series. I really don’t want to hear about adrenaline or lack thereof, you are being paid to do a job and if you are asked to pitch in the second or the eighth you better do what you are supposed to do, short of the fact that you arm is falling off, I don’t want to hear excuses. On that note, Sean Green stinks and I think the Mets need to chuck him, he is a nightmare out there, he can’t get anyone out. Look, I love the Putz and Green deal, for nothing more than it got Aaron Heilman out of town but if they can’t get anyone out, they’ll get the Heilman reception from the crowd.

If the Mets are going to throw in the towel, then do so. Let Murphy play first, bring up Fernando Martinez, add one of the young pitchers from Triple A, and play out the season, but don’t feed us a line of bull and try to make us believe that the Mets can win now with what they’ve got, because they can’t. Now…not only is Delgado on the DL, Jose Reyes seems headed there too with a calf injury. Also, I’m not making excuses for the Mets because of injuries, every team has injuries; I’m just questioning who is going to step it up. I do think it is interesting that with Delgado departing, David Wright heated up…

The Mets will wrap up their road trip with three in Boston over the weekend. Interestingly, this weekend the Mets and Yankees have the opportunity to help each other out this weekend as the Yankees will host the Phillies for three…wow, I might have to root for the Yankees (ugh!)

Mets Blog

Game 1: Braves 8 Mets 3 After a three game sweep against the Pirates, the Mets faltered against the Braves.  It is no secret that the Mets have always struggled against the Braves and I was hoping the would not lose momentum especially in the first match up between Johan Santana and Derek Lowe.  The game was a nightmare.  Pitching, outside of Santana was terrible, the bats were dead and the defense was dreadful.  I know that when Santana is on the mound the Mets don’t score a lot of runs, I don’t know why that is; but I do think it is worth noting that when Santana is on the mound the Mets face the other team’s ace as well. Plus, it seems that everyone steps it up a notch against Santana, of the two runs that scored with Santana on the mound, none were earned; actually of the eight runs the Braves scored, only three of them were earned. David Wright and Jose Reyes have got to step up their defense-they have had periods of times where they have played well, but too often they make errors in big spots they have caused the Mets some games. The Mets were without Carlos Delgado who sat because of a sore hip. 

Game 2: Mets 4 Braves 3 (10 innings) Mike Pelfrey pitched seven strong innings, he allowed just two runs on six hits, he walked only one.  JJ Putz came into the game in the eight and stunk up the joint-he allowed one run on one hit while walking two.  Amazingly, after saying in spring training that he had no problem being the set up man Putz has changed his tune; apparently, he has admitted that he is having trouble getting excited to pitch the eighth inning-the adrenaline isn’t there! This is the kind of crap that annoys me to all hell.  Seriously, just shut up and do your job-by the way-I think it is worth noting that when you did have some adrenaline last year in Seattle you still weren’t all that great.  He claims that he is healthy but that, I believe will remain to be seen.  This was a great extra innings game; the Mets had not scored a run until they scored two in the bottom of the eighth off a Jose Reyes double-too bad Reyes was thrown out at third trying to stretch it into a triple.  In the ninth, the Mets tied the game, Carlos Beltran hit a double and with one out stole third-Chipper Jones was very unhappy with the call-but early in the game David Wright thrown out at second on stolen base attempt earlier in the game (and he was clearly safe) so I guess the game sometime hinges on bad calls, Chipper.  Oh and by the way, he was safe.  Anyway, Beltran scored on a sac fly by Luis Castillo.  In the bottom of the 10^th the Mets loaded the bases on a single by Reyes who stole second, Alex Cora was intentionally walked, Ramon Castro walked to load the based. Carlos Beltran came to bat with the bases loaded, Braves reliever Jeff Bennett walked him which scored the winning run.  For a second straight night, Delgado was not in the lineup.   

Game 3: Braves 8 Mets 7 (12 innings) This was a classic Mets Braves battle. The Mets had Jonathan Niese on the mound and lets just say, he didn’t pitch as well as the Mets would have liked. The Braves put up a two spot in the top of the first, but, the Mets came back and scored two in the bottom of the inning. The Braves would take the lead to make it 4-2 but in the bottom of fourth, Fernando Tatis hit a Grand Slam to put the Mets ahead 6-4. The Braves scored the go ahead run in the top of the eighth but the Mets fought back and tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on a homerun by Gary Sheffield.  The game went into extra innings but in the end the Mets couldn’t pull it off.  Ken Takahashi gave up a solo homer to Martin Prado to lead of the 12^th.  The Mets had a chance, Reyes lead off with a double and Castillo moved him over with a sac bunt, but with a guy on third, both Beltran and Sheffield stuck out to end the game.

The worst part about dropping two of three to the Braves is that the Mets could have won all three of these games. I think Jose Reyes had the worst series of his life. His defense, his base running, his show boating…this kid needs to get his head on straight.

Also worth nothing, for a third straight game, the Mets were without Carlos Delgado. The Mets have come out and said that if Delgado isn’t feeling better by Friday they will put him on the DL. This could spell trouble for the Mets. Delgado’s power can’t be replaced by a platoon at first; as much as I like Tatis, I would be remiss to believe that he could take over for Delgado.

Mets Blog

Game 1 Mets 1 Phillies 0  The Johan Show continues.  A masterful 7 inning, 3 hit, O run, 10 K performance. Don’t mess with the Johan. (sidebar: “Don’t Mess with the Zohan” was one of the most horrible pieces of cinematic crap ever put to film. Even my 10 yr old nephew turned it off. Couldn’t take it.) Santana was matched pitch for pitch by Chan Ho Park, who tossed 6 scoreless.  Wasn’t it me who stated last week that Park looked like he should have retired four years ago?  It’s amazing what a little motivation will do for you as Park had been told this may well be his last appearance unless he looked better.  VOILA!! Transformed into Chan Ho Park circa 2000. ( He was 18-10 with LA that year for you noobs )

My husband said to me as it was scoreless into the sixth ..”don’t you feel as if the Mets will do something dumb in the field to cost them the game?”  HA! WRONG!  For it was the Phils who made the crucial mistake.  With Carlos Delgado on first via a walk, Fernando Tatis pinch hit for Jeremy Reed.  Durbin, now pitching for Philly, broke Tatis’ bat resulting in a slow roller down third.  Pedro Feliz scooped it up and tried to throw on the run. Uh..bad job. The throw was so wide of first that Elastic Man from the Fantastic 4 couldn’t have made the play.  Delgado kept running as the throw rolled into right field.  As Delgado rounded third, Jayson Werth picked up the errant throw and promptly had brain freeze. Werth held the ball, triple pumped and finally let go as Delgado scored the only run of the game.

You know, you hear guys are good all the time but until you see them everyday, you don’t realize just HOW good they really are. And that’s the story with Santana. This guy is the GOODS. I would find it hard to believe that Halladay is better. A great pitcher, no doubt, but better?  No way!  Against Santana, batters are hitting, I believe, .048 with runners in scoring position that is 1 for 21; he really bears down with runners on and THAT is what makes a great pitcher. 

Mets Blog

Well, it’s been awhile. I guess I’ve calmed down enough from Schoeneweis to finally write an ending to the season. My first thought is how could they possibly have done this again? Are you kidding me?  And of course, this was only worsened by the fact that the Phillies won the world series.  My Sports Illustrated arrived in the mail with them on the cover and I felt that sense of dread-can you imagine what it will be like when the Mets play the Phillies next season?  You would think that would be enough alone for the Mets to want to rise to the occasion next season, but then again, isn’t that what we said after the 2007 season?   

How is it that the 2008 season ended just like the 2007 season?  The Marlins spit in their eye two years in a row and laughed about it. The Mets?  Instead of fighting, instead of taking a cue from Johan Santana (who it turns out was pitching on a bum knee)-the Mets laid down and died.  This Mets’ team has no guts. How is it that nobody stood up and punched Hanley Ramirez in the mouth (figuratively speaking of course)? As much as I hate to say it, and I REALLY hate to say it, Shane Victorino (doesn’t he sound like a grade “B” gangster, Vic Torino, polyester suit and all) would not take this BS from anybody. And that’s basically what’s wrong with the Mets.

After Santana went out there on Saturday and pitched his guts out on one leg the Mets did almost nothing on Sunday. That’s why your leader can’t be a pitcher; he’s only out there every five days. The Mets need a fiery everyday player. The Mets need Keith Hernandez again. In the ’86 playoff against the Astros the Mets HAD to win game 6. There was no way they were winning a game 7 that year against Mike Scott. He was in their heads. So when the Mets had the lead in the ninth and Orosco on the mound, the story goes Keith went to Orosco on the mound and told him” If you throw any fastballs, anything but a slider, I’m going to kick your ass right here on the mound”. Is this true? Who knows? No one would admit it now. Not pc enough for the Pollyanna’s in the game today (of which Keith makes mention of almost every game…”It’s become such a gentlemen’s game” said with much disdain.) But this is exactly what they need, a kick ass, ask for names later leader.  Where to get one? I don’t know. And it’s hard to admit that. I don’t know who they need or what they need to give up to get this mystery leader.  

I can tell you that Scott Schoeneweis..GONE. Aaron Heilman…GONE, he can go pout about being a starter somewhere else. Can’t you just hear him? (whiney voice..”But I want to be a starter…”)  Luis Castillo…Gone Baby Gone!  Duaner Sanchez-Gone, go get arroz con pollo at 2am with someone else.  Moises Alou…can still hit, older than Ty Cobb…Gone. Marlon Anderson…gone pleeeese. Pedro Martinez..thanks for the memories (of Takin’ the money, not for big wins. By the way Pedro’s 32 wins as a Mets cost $1,611,424.00 each. Nice work if you can get it. ).  Ollie…probably gone with Boras as his agent.  We all know that we won’t see Billy Wagner as a Met again.

I waited to deal with the so-called “Core” players: Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. There is a lot of talk here in NY of breaking up them up. I don’t think Reyes, Wright or Beltran are goin’ anywhere.  Carlos Delgado is a different story.  The Mets picked up his $12 million option. It would have cost $4 million to buy him out, so an outlay of $8 million.  There has been rumblings that they would move him if they could create a package with Delgado and assorted other pieces. Remember he didn’t want to come here anyway. He signed with the Marlins. 

Now the others:

Joe Smith-can be useful. Stays.  Pedro Feliciano…gotta get a couple a’ righty’s out once in awhile there Pedro. Stays.  Luis Ayala…looked good at times. Don’t think he can be full time closer but valuable. Stays  Ramon Castro…useful back-up-then again, he has to stay health-the past two years he’s missed significant playing time, he stays.  Nick Evans…young OF. Stays-Omar has said they think he can hit for power-I guess we’ll have to wait and see.  Ryan Church… him before concussions. Stays.  Brian Schneider…ok, can we upgrade?  Stays- But, rumor has been that Pudge is an idea for the upgrade-NO THANKS!  Daniel Murphy, you can hit, can you play second? Stays.  Argenis Reyes…like him. Hit .283 in AAA, how about here? Stays.  Fernando Tatis…came back to MLB to build church in hometown. Now that it’s built, will God still be smiling on him?  Stays.  Endy Chavez…was he still on the team after Manuel took over? Stays.  Damion Easley…like him, wants to be a gamer, hurt too much, old.  Probably stays if healthy.  Mike Pelfry…Duh!  Johan Santana …Like there is a question about this.  John Maine…Serious John though, can you put a guy away after getting two strikes and not let him foul off 30 pitches? Stays.  

So, where does that leave the Mets?  The Mets are in need of a left fielder, a second baseman, a starter and a closer. I think Derek Lowe is a gamer and Orlando Hudson would be a welcome addition at second. Can Evans and Murphy split left?  Did you see some of those fielding adventures they had out there?  Can you say Arizona Instructional League?  Will the Mets try to make Maine the closer?  He has the stuff. Can he pitch multiple days in a week?  He seems to get frustrated easily; can he handle the mental aspects of closing?  Uh…I guess there are a few questions the Mets need to answer right now. 

Here is my best guess:

Starting Rotation: Santana, Pelfry, Lowe, Maine and Niese.  Relievers: Smith, Feliciano, Kunz, Stokes, Ayala, and…your guess is as good as mine.  Infield: C Schneider and Castro, 1B Delgado, 2B Hudson, SS Reyes, 3B Wright Outfield: LF Evans /Murphy, CF Beltran, RF Church 

Mets Blog

I guess one thing you can say about the Mets bullpen is that they are historical-like as in they are the worst bullpen in the history of baseball.  Seriously, seven relievers to close out a game?  While the bull pen  was awful last night, the Mets got enough offense to finally win a game a stop their losing streak.  It was a good thing they won as both the Phillies and the Brewers won last night. 

Jose Reyes hit a lead off homer.  Reyes admitted that he was glad that the Mets would be facing some right handed pitching as he has really struggled against the lefties here in September.  Obviously something clicked for him as he was 2-4 with 2 RBI; he also walked once and scored twice.  Carlos Delgado hit his 36th homer of the season; he also scored twice and drove in a pair as well.  Carlos Beltran was the real story last night.  He hit two homers and was 2-3 with 3 RBI and two runs scored.  Is there another outfielder in the National league who has both scored and driven in over 100 runs? 

Unfortunately David Wright is choking.  He was 0-5 last night, he struck out two times and stranded four guys on base.  It also looked as if his ninth inning error might just blown the game for the Mets.  I like David a lot.  I think he plays hard and I think he is just an all around good guy.  He is being groomed as ”the guy” of this team for the long haul.  But, if you look at what Ryan Howard is doing for his team right now and you compare that to where David is right now, it looks like he is choking big time.  Listen, I hope tonight that Wright comes out of this funk and totally just makes a fool out of me for writing this.  If the Mets are going to go anywhere and not fall out of this, they need the big four Wright, Reyes and the Carloses to carry them there. 

It appears that we will be oh so lucky to continue to see Luis Castillo.  Damion Easley is probably not going to be able to contribute much after tearing his quad over the weekend.  Also, while Fernando Tatis is holding off on having surgery for  his grade 3 shoulder separation, he will not be back for the Mets this season, even if they do make the play offs. 

The Mets will have Johan Santana on the mound tonight.  Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

Mets Blog 

The Mets had a huge inning against Odalis Perez scoring six runs in the bottom of the third.  It looked as if they would cruise to the finish, but the Nationals would not go down with out a fight.  New York blew a six run lead but, they seem to have found some offense at the right time and are playing like winners.  After the game was tied at seven, the Mets scored six more runs to win 13-10.  This is a hard time right now, the Mets have a three and half game (four in the loss column) lead with just 17 games left to play.  This is right where the Mets were last year when they blew the seven game lead.  But, this year is different, these Mets are different.