What if I had said to you in May that by the end of July Carlos Delgadowould have hit more homeruns than ARod?  You would have told me I was crazy, right?  Well guess what?  As of the end of play on Tuesday, Carlos Delgado has hit 23 homeruns, Alex Rodriguez has 21.  And while that isn’t a huge difference, it puts into perspective just what Delgado has done to turn things around after a dreadful start. 

The Mets opened the game with three straight doubles, however, Jose Reyes was thrown out at third for trying to stretch his double into a triple.  Nick Evans then doubled to left and would score on a double by David Wright.  The amazing thing was that all three of those doubles were virtually in the same spot, hitting off the scoreboard in left field. The Mets took an early 1-0 lead, but Perez gave it back in the bottom of the inning.  In the sixth inning, Nick Evans singled and would come around to score on a single by Carlos Beltran.  Carlos Delgado added two insurance runs in the top of the eighth when he hit his 23 homerun of the season, the Mets would win 4-1.  

Oliver Perez earned his first victory since the end of June.  He worked six innings, allowing just one run on five hits, he walked three and struck out five.  Ollie has really come around since he started working with Dan Warthen.  Last night he was probably not as good as we’ve seen him recently, but instead of completely falling apart, he kept it together and ended up pitching pretty well. 

Aaron Heilman came in and worked two scoreless innings in relief.  It looked a little scary at first when he walked two batters in the seventh, but Heilman hung in there and pitched two innings, allowing just one hit, and no runs.  Once he got past the walks he made some great pitches striking out four.  It would be great if we could get the “setup” Heilman back, he was so good in the role last year and the Mets could really use a go-to eighth inning guy.  Billy Wagner retired the side in order to close out the game and earned his 27th save of the season.  After the meltdown by the pen on Monday night, the bullpen needed to come out and shut the Marlins down.  Clearly, the Mets really need to get their pen woes in order.  The race for the NL East appears as if it is going to go down to the wire, and the Mets really need to get everyone playing their best baseball because three teams are battling for the top spot. 

John Maine got the resutls of his MRI, the Mets are saying that he has a mild strain of the right rotator cuff.  He is likely to miss at least one start, but because of the off day, the Mets will not have to call up a spot starter.  Pedro Martinez will pitch on Friday.  Obviously it will be an emotional start for Pedro with everything that he has been through recently.  Ryan Church took batting practice for a second straight day and said that he felt good afteward, based on how he is in the next few days the Mets will sent a time frame for his return to the lineup, I know Jerry Manual has said he’d like Chruch to have a few rehab starts before returning to the lineup. 

Starters for Wednesday  Mike Pelfrey 9-6 with a 3.67 era and Josh Johnson with a 3.71 era .  Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

Mets Blog

That was a pathetic performance by the Mets bullpen last night in the 7-3 loss to the Marlins.  The Mets lead is now just a half game over the Phillies and the Marlins are now just one game out. Listen, I know you can’t win them all but after what they did last week against the Phillies and after what we saw last night, we should be worried.  Yes, Maine had to leave the game early, so we had to figure that it wasn’t going to be easy, but the bull pen was dreadful.  Can you imagine how much pressure the performance of the bullpen puts on the starters?  First off if you want a win you have to pitch a complete game, and if you have to leave early, you will be fearful that the other guys can’t do their job.   

Obviously the Mets are in trouble in the bullpen department.  In his last five outings, Joe Smith is pitching to a 13.50 era.  It appears that Pedro Felicano will only face one guy (the lefty), and I’m sick of Scott Schoeneweis too, he has really been a disappointment since joining the Mets, yeah he has had some spots where he was doing a good job, but by and large he has been a disaster.  Who knows what will happen with Duaner Sanchez, I bet he never rides in a cab again.  He certainly hasn’t been his old self and who knows if he ever will be.  But, if the Mets are going to stay in the thick of it, they have to be able to trust their relievers.  Is there anyone in the pen that you can say you trust right now?   

For the most part, the offense was dead last night.  Jose Reyes was 0-5 and popped up at least twice, I hate when he has hit a few homeruns, it messes with his game, because instead of putting the ball in play, he tries to hit it out of the park.  The lone bright spot in the lineup last night was Fernando Tatis, on the day when Jerry Manual anointed him the starting left fielder he went 2-4 with a triple and two RBI.  

The unsettling thing about John Maine leaving the game with shoulder stiffness is that he may not be able to make his next start.  Because the Mets have two off days in the next two weeks they may not have to move guys in and out of the rotation; however, we have to be worried if it turns out that he needs more than just a little rest.  The coaching staff was aware of the stiffness, and when pitching coach Dan Warthen said he saw a hitch in Maine’s delievery they decided to pull him.  Clearly Maine did not want to leave the game and you could see him arguing with Jerry Manual when Manual came to the mound.  After the game, Maine said he understood the decision to pull him; he also talked about his shoulder and described the pain as like nothing he has felt before.  Warthen said he didn’t think that Maine’s problem was serious because the pain isn’t exactly coming from the shoulder, but rather in the back area, under the shoulder, stating that that it is not usually a “red-flag area.”  But, this is also the club who screwed up the Ryan Church thing, so I’m not putting a lot of faith into what we are hearing right now.  On a side note, I actually like Maine a lot, but I’m getting a little tired of him.  I know he is having a rough year, but the sulkiness gets old after a while.  And also, for the second consecutive game, his bunt attempt was awful-you have to be able to do a better job than that.  Why don’t these guys know how to bunt?   

David Wright made a spectacular catch in the fifth inning on a pop up in the seats on the third base line-he totally knocked two guys over-it was great.  So, later in the game, I think it was in the seventh inning when Wright went into the same area to see if he could make a play on a ball, if you saw replay in slow motion there was a big doofy guy in the red shirt, you could read his lips, he said to Wright, ”Hey , dat was a good play before!”  (think really thick NY accent-you know the guy!)  I don’t know why, but it stuck me as seriously funny!   

Ryan Church is supposed to take batting practice with the team on Tuesday.  I was wondering if they had him go on the road trip to see how he does with the flying.  It seems that most of his problems have all come after he has been on an airplane.  The soonest he’ll rejoin the team is August 5^th.  Pedro Martinez will make the start for the Mets on Friday, and it is possible that he could work an inning of relief in Tuesday night’s game.   

Tuesday’s Starters: Oliver Perez 6-6 4.15 era and Scott Olsen 6-5 4.07 era.  Game time 7:10 p.m. 

Mets Blog 

The Mets were able to bounce back from their terrible ninth inning on Tuesday night, to beat the Phillies 6-3 on Wednesday night. 

The Mets got some help from Brett “I hate the Mets” Meyers, as he walked four in the first inning.  The Mets scored two runs in the first with out even getting a hit.  What was most frustrating though, was the Mets couldn’t seem to put the nail in Meyer’s coffin, as they left the bases loaded in the first inning, the third inning, and again in the seventh (by the seventh, Meyers was out of the game).   

Not to be undone, John Maine wasn’t able to hold the lead.  In the second inning he gave up back to back jacks, one to Shane Victorino, and the other to Geoff Jenkins, Jenkins is in the midst of a 9-71 (well, now 10-72), I guess he was over due, huh?  Maine was better; he made it through seven last night because he was able to keep his pitch count down.  In seven innings of work he allowed three runs on six hits, walked two and struck out five.  On a side note, he did a terrible job in the sixth inning, with guys on first and second he was up there to sacrifice and was awful.  Granted the Phillies has the wheel on-whatever, but these guys need to help himself out.  Seriously, how do these guys not know how to bunt?  He is lucky that it come back to bite him, because Jose Reyes came up and hit a three run homer, to give the Mets a 6-3 lead.   

Also, Angel Hernandez is jerk.  The Mets have had their issues with him in the past.  He is a piece of work.  Last night in the first inning, Carlos Delgado asked for time and he wouldn’t grant it, there was really no reason for it.  His strike zone was awful.  And, I had to laugh because Keith said something that I’ve heard in my very own living room which is, that Angel Hernandez must think that the crowd is there to see him.  What a jerk! 

I’m in a ranting mood!  Will everyone please lay off Johan Santana!  He threw 105 pitches; he pitched exactly like the Mets needed him to.  He pitched eight complete, and was amazing.  There was NO reason to believe that the bullpen would not be able to record three outs with a three run lead.  I have no problem with him not pitching the ninth, what I have a problem is the Duaner Sanchez and Pedro Feliciano stunk, and didn’t do their jobs!   

Speaking of doing their jobs, is anyone else sick of seeing Marlon Anderson?  I know he has had some big pinich hits, but he has nothing these days.  And I just cringe when a ball is hit to him in the outfield. 

Also, Billy Wagner pitched the 9th last night.  He retired the side in order and said that if he feels that he can compete he will be out there. The Mets are in a postion where until there is any distance (one way or the other) between them, the Phillies or the Marlins, they need all their guys. 

And another thing is any Mets pitcher going to hit anyone?  Three guys have been hit so far in this three game series, and nothing.  I mean, really?  Enough!  I would love to see that little Shrimpy Victorino hit right on the 8!   

The Mets have Oliver Perez on the mound today.  The Phillies will counter with Jamie Moyer. 

Mets Blog

Before game time, I heard that the Mets claimed they would have a packed house for the first of three games with the Phillies.  While I’m not sure if it was a “sell out” crowd, it was a play off atmosphere.  The Mets, the fans, the commentators, everyone knew that this was a big game.  The question is, would the Mets play like it was a big game?  The answer is, they played like it was a big game for about eight innings.  The Phillies scored six runs in the top of the ninth to win the game 8-6.  This game marks the fourth time this season that the Mets have blown a four run lead.   

Johan Santana was fantastic.  He pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, no walks and four strikeouts.  He struggled in the first inning; allowing three straight two out hits to give the Phillies and early 1-0 lead.  But there after, Santana did what he had to do.  He is the guy I felt bad for last night.  It was the third time the Mets have blown a save for Santana.  It was awful.  Santana put up exactly the performance that the Mets (and us fans) needed from him, he was great.  But, he didn’t pitch the ninth inning.  However, after retiring the heart of the order in the top of the eighth, you had to figure that the Mets bullpen could at least get the last three outs. 

Since the all star break the Mets bullpen has been terrible in 14.1 innings of work they have an 8.18 era and opponenets are hitting .271 against them.  I was going to say that last nights game was probably the worst display of relief pitching I’ve every seen, but then that would be a lie, because this whole season we’ve seen one bad pitching performance after another.  Billy Wagner was unavailable last night due to spasms or whatever; he probably would have stunk too.  Duane Sanchez allowed three straight hits; Joe Smith came into the game, faced one batter, but because Jose Reyes was greedy, he tried to turn two instead of getting the sure out at first, and no one was out.  Pedro Felicano came in and was just putrid, he allowed two straight doubles, one to a guy who was 0-16 as a pinch hitter and was 0-5 (or some number like that) against him; the other to Jimmy Rollins, Feliciano had the opportunity to get a double play when Ryan Howard hit one back to him, but he dropped the ball and could only make the play at first.  Aaron Heilman came in and since he isn’t really the guy you think of when you are looking to stop the bleeding, I figured the Phillies would tack on a few more.  Heilman walked the first guy he faced, but finally got Gregg Dobbs to pop up to end the inning.  It didn’t matter, the Phillies scored six, they batter around, and both Jayson Werth and Gregg Dobbs came to the plate twice in the inning.   

The Mets got two big homeruns last night, one from Carlos Delgado and one from Ramon Castro.  Reyes didn’t do anything at the plate he was 0-4 with a walk.  Beltran had an RBI, but no hits.  Endy Chavez was 3-4 but he was thrown out at the plate twice.  But, their offense wasn’t the problem, if they got the three outs they needed we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.   

It isn’t as simple as saying if the Mets had just capitalized on opportunities, maybe they would have gotten the “W”.  Endy Chavez was thrown out at the plate TWICE, although the Mets scored 6 runs they still left eight guys on base.  But the fact is, they had a three run lead and couldn’t get three outs.  That is all they needed to win, as much as I try to find a way that the Mets could have won the game, the truth is, they did have the game in their hands and they blew it.   

Again what you notice is that this Phillies team is never dead, they don’t stop, they don’t give up, they play to the last out.  That is something you can not say about the Mets.  We’ve finally seen a little fight out of them with their resurgence, but if they get a big lead, they kind of just nonchalant it, if they get down by too many they decided to save it for another day.    

Who knows what tonight will hold for the Mets.  Can they shake this loss off and come out and play well tonight?  Remember the Mets lost the first game of the Fourth of July series against the Phillies and then won the next three.  They can’t let last night linger too long or else they will be in trouble.   

John Maine will start tonight and he will be opposed by Brett Meyers, Meyers who apparently hates the Mets-(and might we say the feeling is mutual) is coming of a stint in the minors where he was finding his fastball.  Maine has struggled and would really like for him to find himself tonight.  Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.   

Mets Blog 

The Mets 10 game win streak came to an end last night with a 5-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.  The Mets looked more like the team of old rather than the team that has been so good in the prior 10 games.   

We all knew the Mets were going to lose eventually, but I guess we were hoping it would happen on a night when the Phillies lost too.  Instead, the Phillies beat the Marlins 4-2, and the Mets find themselves back in second place.   

John Maine was horrible last night.  He has really not been good all year.  In his last four starts he is 0-2 with a 6.63 era.  He has not won a game since the 20^th of June.  Look, last night he didn’t exactly get anyhelp.  With two on, Jeff Keppinger hit a ball to third that David Wright could not make the play on; it was ruled an infield hit, but it was an error.  The game changed there, if Wright makes that play, Maine gets out of the inning.  Instead, Maine fell apart, he walked Ken Griffey Jr. with the bases loade, gave up a single to Brandon Phillips that scored two; he intentionally walked Adam Dunn but then hit Edwin Encarnacion with a pitch to walk in another run.  Jerry Manual finally took him out of the game at that point.  Scott Schoeneweis entered the game and got Joey Votto to ground out finally ending the inning.   

Bronson Arroyo shut the Mets offense down; he allowed just two runs on four hits.  The Mets did put up a two spot in the fourth inning but couldn’t do anything there after.  It looked like maybe they would have a scoring chance in the top of the 7^th.  Carlos Beltran hit a triple to lead of the inning, Damion Easley struck out swinging, Carlos Delgado was hit by a pitch, and with runners on the corners, Fernando Tatis grounded into a double play to end the inning.  Beltran had a good game last night offensively, but for the most part the bats were dead.  Jose Reyes has an 0-fer going, having yet to record a hit since the all star break, it was so frustrating watching him pop the ball up all last night.  Again too, it was a terrible job to have a runner on third with no outs and not get him home.    

Ok, am I being a little critical?  Maybe so.  I knew they were going to lose a game eventually, but I hate when they play like they played last night.  It is just sloppy and uninspired.  I guess too I worry because you wonder if they will slip back into the mode.  We’ve seen so much of that this season, and in the past 10 games it was gone, I don’t want them to become complacent.  They need to keep playing with the same firing and driving force they had prior to the all star break.   

If you get a chance, make sure you watch the month’s “Costas Now” on HBO.  The show is a town hall setting with MLB players from different eras.  It appears that it was taped the day after the all star game. Really great stuff.  

The Mets will have Oliver Perez on the mound; he will be opposed by Josh Fogg.  Game time is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. 

Mets Blog

If it isn’t Billy Wagner who blows games for the Mets, it is Billy Joel.  Yep you read that right.  If you caught Johan Santana’s four innings of work you know he was awful.  He allowed five runs on six hits, two of those hits were homeruns, he walked three and struck out two.  But, no worries, because it wasn’t his fault!  Nope, the culprit is Billy Joel.  Because Joel was performing the last concerts ever at Shea Stadium, Santana could not get in to do his side work.  So, I guess that means he should be right on track before his next start. 

The Mets scored four runs in the top of the ninth to win 10-8.  This win extends their streak to 10.  The last time the Mets won 10 in a row was 1991, they are now just one shy of the Mets all time team record.  They also accomplished something they had yet to do this season.  They came back from three runs down to win the game.  They are the last team in the bigs to accomplish that this season.  

The pitching was terrible last night.  Not only did Santana stink, but Aaron Heilman was worse.  Heilman entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning and in just 2/3 of an inning of work, he gave up three runs.  After retiring the first two hitters he faced, he allowed a double to Edwin Encarnacion, he then intentionally walked Joey Votto, and (unintentionally) walked David Ross.  At that juncture, Heilman would leave the game, and Scott Schoeneweis (who also stunk) would enter and gave up a double to Javier Valentin, giving the Reds an 8-6 lead.   

The offense was terrific last night.  It took them a few innings to get going.  The Mets scored first on a Carlos Delgado monster shot to right field that went out of the park, and looks like it was just shy of landing in the river.  In the fifth inning the Mets added two on an RBI single from David Wright.  In the sixth inning, Fernando Tatis hit a two run homer to give the Mets the lead.  The bats were quiet until the ninth inning; Argenis Reyes singled with one out, Wright hit his 18^th homer of the season, a two run blast that just cleared the glove of Ken Griffey Jr., tying the game at 8.  But, the Mets were not done.  Carlos Beltran singled and took third on a single by Damion Easley,  Easley would advance to third and Beltran would score on a single by Carlos Delgado, and Fernando Tatis, came up big again, he hit a RBI double to left that scored Easley.   

David Wright had a big game last night, and had four RBI.  David’s two out RBI single in the top of the 5^th cut the lead 5-4 after the Mets had gone down 5-2 in the bottom of the 4^th, and then of course his 2 run homer in the top of the 9^th tied the game for the Mets.  It was a great job by Wright who had struggled some in that area.  Not only does Wright deserve credit but so does Fernando Tatis, his two run blast gave the Mets the lead in the top of the 6^th, and his RBI double game the Mets an insurance run in the top of the 9^th.  Carlos Delgado continues to swing a hot bat, as he was 3-4 with three RBI.  Jose Reyes who is usually in the thick of it was 0-5 last night that ended his 9 game hit streak.   

So, for the first time since April 20^th when you opened the paper this morning, the Mets were sitting in first place.  Ok-technically they are tied for first, but their name was listed first!  This is an exciting time, especially given how the Mets played last night.  I really didn’t know what to expect from them after the break.  After they went down like that last night, I wasn’t sure they would bounce back, but more and more this team is rebounding and finding ways to win games.  I just have to say though, that it was a terrible job by Santana.  The Mets won the game, so it is what it is, but for him to come back and pitch like that is just a bad job by him.  I don’t want to hear the excuses; I don’t want anything but for him but to win games.  It is infuriating when your team gives your guy a lead and you turn around and give it (and then some) back.  

Ok, so here is something else that will come as a shock to you.  Pedro Martinez will not make his next start.  He had a cortisone shot over the weekend and will not be available to pitch.  Pelfrey will make the start from him on Sunday.  Also, El Duque, left after one inning of work in a rehab start for the B-Mets due to discomfort in his foot.   

The Mets play the second of four against the Reds tonight.  Game time is 7:10 p.m.  The Mets will have John Maine on the mound and he will be opposed by Bronson Arroyo. 

Mets Blog

 If you watched the All Star game, you realized that Billy Wagner hasn’t just let the Mets down this year, but he has now let the whole National League down, as he blew a save opportunity to close out the game for the National League.  This performance got me to thinking, and with a suggestion from a reader, I have decided to write my own midseason report card for the Mets.   

Position Players: 

First Base: Carlos Delgado-Delgado’s performance is really the tale of two halves in its own right, the early part of the season (April-Mid June) and the late part of the first half (late June-break).  Early on, I’d have given Delgado an F, not just because he wasn’t hitting, but because he didn’t hustle on the field, he wasn’t helping the Mets out with his fielding.  But, since late June and right on through the All Star break Delgado has almost looked like a different player.  He has raised his average to .248 with 17 homeruns and 52 RBI.  But it isn’t just his hitting that has been better.  He has started to do the little things, like making an effort to field the ball, and taking the extra base when he can.  It is an all around hustle that this team has not had and it is good to see it out of a veteran guy.  So over all I think Delgado deserves a B-/C+.   

Second Base: Luis Castillo-Oh, where do I begin?  I think this guy stinks.  I do not like his body language or his attitude.  I think this signing was a huge waste of money and time.  And, let me tell you this, It does not bother me a bit that he will not have his starting job waiting for him.  He is a terrible fielder, and maybe that has to do with the fact that he can hardly walk, I think he is a nightmare at the plate, that slap crap hitting annoys me.  Also, I just don’t think that he is a good guy.  There was a lot of chatter about his relationship with Jose Reyes last year claming that he really isn’t a great influence on him-especially when you consider the mentoring relationship that Reyes had with Jose Valentin.  I think this guy is a problem in the club house and an all around lazy guy.  Someone also said that part of the reason Castillo is a Met this year is because he and Santana a great friends from their time together in Minnesota, but if that is true, I would say to Santana-you need new friends.  Overall grade-F 

Third Base: David Wright- David is a hard guy to grade.  We all know that this has not been his best season at the plate, yet he leads the team in almost every offensive category hitting .282 with 17 homeruns, 70 RBI and 11 stolen bases.  David has struggled this year, and he has not been himself at the plate.  He has shown glimpses of coming out of it but has been unable to sustain that for any extended period of time.  His fielding has been pretty good, he does have 12 errors, the majority being throwing errors, but they have also been costly errors, especially early on when the Mets were struggling to win games.  David is such a likeable guy, even when he is not performing up to the standards he set for himself by what he has done in past years.  He says the right thing, does the right thing, answers questions the right way, and an all around good guy.  I would take a team full of David Wrights any day.  That being said, he is a huge part of this team, and if the Mets are really going to make a run at this, he is going to have to continue to do his part, and work on getting runners home from third with less than two out and work on his strikeouts.  Overall grade B+ 

Short Stop: Jose Reyes-Reyes went into a slump last September and didn’t come out of it until the end of May.  But, the good news is he did eventually come out of the slump.  He has gotten his average up to .302 with 43 RBI.  He has fourth most hits in major league baseball with 119, having hit 10 homeruns, 10 triples, and 23 doubles.  He is tied for fifth in the majors with 32 stolen bases.  His offensive production is probably one of the factors why the Mets are sitting where they are now.  However, Reyes has  uncharacteristically struggled with his defense at times.  He has already made 12 errors-as a measuring point, he made only 12 errors all last season.  He does also still make some mental mistakes but I do think that it is all a process, and when he came up with the Mets we knew he was going to be good, and every year he continues to get better.  I think Jose will continue to swing a hot bat and will have a better second half defensively.  Over allgrade-B+/A- 

Left Field: Obviously this is one position you can’t give a grade to.  If you were going to say Endy Chavez, then he scores off the charts solely because of his defense, however, as a whole the position gets an INCOMPLETE because they really are in trouble out there, and what’s to come remains to be seen.   

Center Field: Carlos Beltran-Beltran has quietly had a good season.  He is hitting .268 with 15 homeruns and 66 RBI, he has suddenly become more aggressive on the base paths and has 15 stolen bases.  He started the season out slowly, and I think it had a lot to do with some trepidation coming back after having knee surgery in the off season.  His fielding is probably superior to most of the outfielders in the game.  While I do think a lot of balls fall in front of him because he plays too deep, rarely do they go over his head, and more often then not he tracks down balls in the gap that almost nobody gets to.  Early in the season, I really felt that he and the other Carlos were not doing what they should, and I also thought they were causing a division in the clubhouse.  With the departure of Willie Randolph, I think we’ve seen a new Beltran.  I loved the fact that he go thrown out of the game against Seattle, I know that he is not typically a demonstrative guy, but it was great to see him stand up for himself and Jerry Manual.  Overall grade: B+ 

Right Field: Again, if Ryan Church were playing out there, he would get an A+, his defense has been superb and his offensive production is something, until just recently, the Mets lineup was really missing.  I can’t believe how the Mets front offices screwed this situation up, but I do know they remain optimistic that he may be able to rejoin the team after the all star break.  If the Mets can get Church back, and he is able to pick up where he left off, then they might be in good shape out in right field.  Overall grade: INCOMPLETE 

Catchers: Ramon Castro/Brian Schneider the grade here actually goes to Jerry Manual.  I like the way he has played Castro and Schneider.  I don’t know if it is the rest that Schneider is getting or the reps that Castro is getting but this quasi platoon seems to be working in the Mets favor.  Overall grade B+

Starting Pitching:

Johan Santana he is 8-7 with a 2.84 era, with 114 strikeouts, and has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched.  The only concern is that he does give up the long ball, and has given up 14 so far this season.   However, Santana has shown that he has the guts to pitch out of trouble, and to pitch in big spots.  If Santana actually got some run support, or a good job by the bull pen, Santana could easily be 11-4.  However, things haven’t quite worked out that way for Santana.  Some fans get on him, suggesting that he isn’t any good, and as I’ve said before I believe that is because they have unreasonable expectations about his performance.  For me, has he been as good and I “thought” he was going to be, no-but he has been good.  And if you can believe what people say, that he is a second half pitcher, then we have a lot to look forward to.  Overall Grade B+/A-  

Pedro Martinez-Having Pedro back on the bench is a big plus.  I think he brings something to the clubhouse that no other player on the Mets does.  That being said, he has been unimpressive since his return.  Can Pedro be affective?  Can he stay healthy?  In his last start he pitched only four innings because of a sore groin and a stiff shoulder.  Overall Grade D 

Mike Pelfrey- Pelfrey is 8-6 with a 3.64 era.  Again, if you were just grading him on his last three starts then the guys deserves an A, but early on he was less than stellar, and was a big contributing factor to the Mets early season woes.  However, he never shied away or played the blame game, he kept going out there and working, he has had three good starts and has shown that he can in fact pitch with the big boys.  Overall Grade C 

John Maine-after hearing about how Maine was dominating spring training, I thought for sure he was in for a big season.  Maine is 8-6 with a 3.99 era.  He has failed to go deep into the game because he continuously has terribly high pitch counts.  We’ve seen more players foul pitches off with Maine on the mound, then I think I’ve ever seen before.  He seems to be lacking a real put away pitch and has yet to find that.  I think that all of us, Maine included, are disappointed in his season thus far.  Overall Grade C- 

Oliver Perez-With the addition of new pitching coach Dan Warthen, Oliver has had a chance to reinvent himself.  Oliver has an overall record of 6-5 with a 4.44 era, but in the two games he pitched in July he has allowed just one earned run.  He has pitched much better in his last three or four starts and seems to have tinkered with his windup and delivery.  If Perez keeps this up, he might just get the money he was looking for next year.  Perez seems to be either “Good Ollie” and or the “Bad Ollie”, there really isn’t any in between with this guy.  Clearly, he too, is a big reason why the Mets’ found themselves in such a hole early on.  But, as of late he has been in the middle of the Mets’ resurgence.  In the beginning of the season, I would have given him an F, and in his last four starts he deserves an A-.  Overall Grade: C+/B- 

Bull Pen:

The bullpen has had its fair share of issues so far this season.  Since Manual has taken over, I think we’ve seem a mostly better job out of the bullpen.   

Scott Schoeneweis- 2-1 with a 2.65 era.  In the month of June, this guy was terrible he had a 7.20 era in his 14 appearances and it didn’t seem like he could get anyone out.  However, early in the season, he was practically lights out, and he has rebounded stellarly in July, he has allowed no runs in his five appearances. Individual Grade C  

Pedro Feliciano- 2-2 with a 2.86 era.  Pedro too has struggled; he has given up 34 hits in his 34 2/3 innings of work.  Lefties are hitting just 1.72 against Feliciano, but righties are hitting a whopping 3.79 against him.  After getting off to a great start, he has really had a rough go of it.   Individual Grade C

Duaner Sanchez-I think everyone was happy to have Sanchez back, but he has yet to show that he has returned to his pre-injury self.  He is 3-1 with a 3.57 era.  He has really struggled, he was pitching to a 6.00 era in May, but was somewhat better in June appearing 13 games and pitching to a 3.60 era.  However, in July he has pitched in 7 games, and has only allowed only 1 run. Individual Grade  C 

Joe Smith-has a 2.97 era.  He has had 44 relief appearances so far this season, and has allowed 14 runs on 29 hits in 39 innings of work.  He struggled in the early part of the season, and again in June when pretty much the whole bull pen stunk.  Again, pretty much like everyone else, he has been much better as of late.  Individual Grade B-/C+ 

I saved my two favorite bull pen guys for last! 

Aaron Heilman-Heilman is a head case; I think that every time he goes out to pitch, he keeps thinking to himself, “I’m a starter!”  And, maybe he is inside, but not with the Mets.  Anyway, he has appeared in 48 games this season and has allowed 29 runs in 50 innings of work. He has a 4.50 era and a 0-3 record.  Early on he was getting killed with the long ball, and it seemed like he couldn’t get anyone out.  However, when everyone else struggled in June, he was great.  I just looked at his numbers and realized that although I think he has been better recently-like since the winning streak, he is still pitching to a 3.52 era in July.  From what I understand he has added a third pitch, a slider, that seems to help make his fastball and change up more affective, he has been able to keep the ball down in the zone which has kept the ball in the park.  He is a big part of that bullpen whether he realizes it or not.  The Mets need for him to get his head on straight if they are going to over take the Phillies.  Individual Grade C-

 Billy Wagner-has 22 saves in 28 opportunities, his era is 2.31.  He has allowed 15 runs (only 10 earned) in 39 innings.  What I think about Billy is he is the guy who passes all of his quizzes and then bombs the midterm.  What I mean to say is, that Billy got some saves for the Mets when they were easy to get.  But, put Billy in a big spot, and he is going to blow it.  That has become his reputation, and he has done little to dispel that.  I think Mets fans thought he was going to finally get the job done, after  years of watching Franco, Benitez, and Looper blow games, Wagner was the missing key.  Turns out he took over where the other guys left off.  I don’t trust Wagner in a big spot, can’t imagine anyone else does either.  Individual Grade F 

Bullpen Overall Grade: C 

Bench: I am not going to break it down player by player, but I do think the Mets have gotten more out of Endy Chavez, Fernando Tatis, and Damion Easley than anyone thought they might.  It is great that they’ve stepped in to be productive. 

So, overall I think the Mets get a C, there is no question that they have underperformed.  But I do think they have to get some credit for where they are today.  The Mets have lucked out and got hot at the right time to pull within a ½ game of the Phillies.  I hesitate to get too excited, while the Mets have won 9 in a row, I also know they are capable of playing as terrible as they did in the early first half.  I do have more hope for the Mets going into the second half because they have shown that the can and want to win.

Mets Blog

Wow-the Mets are on a roll!  They have now won five straight, the longest winning streak since May and are 3 games over .500.  The Phillies won last night so the Mets stay at 1.5 out of first, and 3.5 out of the wild card. 

Johan Santana finally got the win last night.  The game was stopped for rain in the middle of the fifth inning and Santana did not come back out to start the top of the sixth.  However, in his five innings he allowed just 3 hits, no earned runs, while walking 3 and striking out 5.  It was a great outing by Santana and I think the Mets offense feels better about getting him some runs.  According to the New York Post, after the game, Santana said, “In the past I was doing my job, I was working and trying to help as much as I can…[T]onight it was about the whole team.”  Clearly Santana has been frustrated by the lack of run support that he has gotten during his losing streak.  I can’t say I blame him, the Mets had averaged just two runs in his last six starts.  Santana has pitched well, his era is under three, his hits/walks to innings pitched is good, and everyone says he is s second half pitcher so I think we have a lot to look forward to. 

The Mets offense was quiet early on.  They took a 3-0 lead on Ramon Castro’s three run homer in the bottom of the fourth.  I like the way that Jerry Manual is playing his catchers.  Not to take anything away from Brian Schneider, because I think he is an good catcher and I think Schneider does a good job with Mike Pelfrey behind the plate, but it is also good to get Castro’s bat in the line up.  I know Willie Randolph last year said something to the affect that Castro could be an every day guy but didn’t really seem willing to do the work necessary for the role.  For the most part, when Castro has been in the game he has made a contribution to the offense, last night he was 2-4 with three RBI.  On the season, his average is .274 in 73 at bats, with three homeruns, 14 RBI. 

Carlos Delgado continues to be hot at the plate, last night he was 3-4 with two doubles and a long single.  His average is up to .249 and he has 50 RBI.  In the month of July (I know 9 games) he is hitting .429 with two homeruns 5 RBI.  The Mets could really use his bat, especially with the absence of Ryan Chruch and the inability to rely on the health of Moises Alou, getting Delgado going could be huge.  In Tuesday’s game Argenis Reyes got the first hit of his MLB career, last night he entered the game as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh and stayed in to play second base,  he was 2-2 on the night with an RBI-this guy has good speed on the base path, I would like to see what he can do at second base. 

The bullpen did a great job last night.  Aaron Heilman entered the game in the 6^th inning and pitched two strong innings of relief.  Duaner Sanchez pitched the eighth inning and Joe Smith closed it out working a scoreless ninth.  I was so glad that the Mets scored two in the bottom of the 8^th, I really wasn’t up for watching another Billy Wagner last night. 

The Mets are playing good right now, they are hitting and getting good pitching.  They are also doing something that they have failed to do up to now, and that is beating the teams they are supposed to beat.  They took three of four from the Phillies, they have taken the first two in the series against the Giants, and if they get a good outing from John Maine today and the bats stay hot, they may just get a the sweep here.  We all saw their terrible play against the Mariners (sub .500 team) when they were here as well as watching them get their butts handed to them by the Padres (another sub .500 team). It would be great for the Amazin’s to close this series out with with a win and then have a good series against the Rockies, sending them into the all star break on a high note. 

Even a few weeks ago if you would have told me the Mets were sitting right where they are I would not have believed you.  Two weeks ago, I watched the Mets at to see what they would do to make me made for another night in a row.  I must admit, the Mets are playing better, looking better as a team.  They are getting some confidence back and it is showing on the field.  I don’t know what it is that has changed, but I like it, and for the first time in a long time, I am excited about the Mets again! 

Thrusday’s game is set for 1:10 start, John Maine will be on the mound for the Mets and the Giants will have an unimpressive Barry Zito going for them.  LETS GO METS!

Mets Blog

The Mets were awful against the Cardinals on Monday night.  They got terrible pitching, awful defense, no offense.  As this road trip begins there is a lot of talk about what the Mets would do, and the ground they could gain.  Well if this first game against the Cardinals is any indication of what is to come, I’m not sure I can watch much more of it. 

John Maine never got in a groove; he gave up a run before he got an out.  In his four innings of work he gave up five runs-three earned, three walks (one intentional), and one strikeout, that strikeout was to the pitcher who fouled out on a bunt attempt.  Of course, it wasn’t just that Maine didn’t have his good stuff, the Mets made three errors.  The first error came on a groundball that took a bad hop and went through Luis Castillo’s legs, that would have ended the inning; instead, on the next play John Maine threw the ball away on a pickoff move, allowing the runner on third to score and the runner on first to advance to third.  The final error was by David Wright who made a good play on a ball hit to third, he no chance to get the runner at first, his throw sailed way over the head of Carlos Delgado, and the runner to advance to second; that runner would score.

The Cardinals scored in each of the first five innings, the Mets scored once, in the fifth inning.  Andy Phillips, pinch hitting for Maine hit a single to left; he would come around to score on a single by Luis Castillo.  As a team the Mets left 9 guys on base last night.  Ryan Church (1-3) and Carlos Delgado both grounded into double plays.  Delgado, David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Brian Schneider all had 0-for’s last night. 

You knew right away that it was going to be a long night.  In the first inning, when John Maine could not get an out, I knew the Mets were not going to bounce back, because they never do.  Their demeanor says it all.  They fall behind, you might as well call the game there.  They just don’t have the intestinal fortitude to keep going.  They are at their statistical half way point, and they are still under .500.  This is where the team is going to be.  How many times have we heard-or worse yet-said, this win could be just what the Mets need, only to watch them follow it up with a garbage performance like last night.

There is something missing from this team, and I’m not talking about Moises Alou, although I do think that has been a part of it.  The Mets have had a weak line up because they are relying on bench players and it has showed.  Everyone is pressing and no one has been able to step it up and be the guy for the team.  I know there is a lot of pressure to win; you want to stop the booing, the losing, and the embarrassment!  These guys need to suck it up and play, show some fight, show some desire.  Show us something!

What the Mets are really missing is leadership.  Jerry Manual said as much last night when he was talking about Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes.  Much has been said about Reyes and how he was really learning the game and understanding how to conduct himself when Jose Valentin was with the team, and Manual said that the Mets were hoping they would get Castillo to kind of take a more active role with Reyes, but have yet to see it.  They had to know that going in though, there was a lot of talk last year at the end of the season about the negative affect that Castillo had on Reyes, but the Mets signed Castillo anyway.  What is even more telling to me, when the Mets had that players only meeting before Randolph was fired sometime in May, the one guy who tried to rally them, was Marlon Anderson.  I give props to Anderson, but how is it he is the only guy trying to take on leadership role?  It is kind of hard to take that responsibility when you are a bench player.  And while I am on the subject, I sincerely think that Carlos Delgado is a problem.  Listen, I am not a beat writer, I don’t spend time around the clubhouse, but just watching these guys together on the bench, it certainly seems like there is discord in the clubhouse. 

The Mets and the Cardinals play the second of four tonight.  Tony Armas will start for the Mets, he has been recalled from Triple-A New Orleans, to make room for him on the roster, they designated Andy Phillips for assignment.  The Cardinals will have Todd Wellemeyer on the hill.  Game time is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. 

Mets Blog

The Mets completed their three game series with the Yankees on Sunday afternoon with a 3-1 win behind Oliver Perez.  The Mets finished 4-2 against the Yankees this season and are the winners of the Subway Series. 

This win was all possible thanks to Oliver Perez.  Yep, you read that right, I said Oliver Perez.  Perez was amazing, I don’t think I have ever seen him pitch that well; he has been working with new pitching coach Dan Warthen and yesterday’s performance showed how much his work has paid off.  Perez has a new delivery and has changed his position from the third base side of the rubber to the middle; as a result Perez’s new delivery allows him to use his legs more and give him more force as he propels his body to the plate.  That force was apparent yesterday as Perez had good speed on his fastball yesterday being clocked in the 94mph range with consistency.  In his 7 innings of work, Perez allowed just three hits, while recording 8 strikeouts.  The one earned run came off a homer to Wilson Betemit in the seventh inning.  Here is the big stat, Perez did NOT walk anyone, he threw 106 pitches yesterday 72 of those were strikes.  In four starts against the Yankees Perez is now 4-0 with 1.54 era.  After the game, Perez said that that performance was the “Real Ollie” let’s hope so!

I must admit that when Billy Wagner gave up the single to Derek Jeter, I thought the Mets were in trouble.  I was having flashbacks to the three consecutive blown saves in early June, especially when it looked like ARod was going to tie the game with one swing of his bat, however, Endy Chavez made the catch on the warning track and Wagner went on to ritire the next two batters he faced and notched his 18th save of the season.

The offense did just enough to get by yesterday.  The Mets scored first in the bottom of the second on a bases loaded infield hit by Luis Castillo, and then added another run in the third when Carlos Delgado hit a bomb to straight away center, his third homerun of the series and his 14^th of the season.  The third run came off a sac fly by David Wright in the bottom of the seventh.  However, again the Mets had a chance to really stick it to Darrell Rasner early on; in both the first and second innings the Mets loaded the bases and scored just one run.  In total they left 11 guys on base and didn’t really get a big hit when they needed one.  David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Fernando Tatis all had 0-fors yesterday.  However, the guys did make some hard outs and while they didn’t score as many runs as you’d like but they did win.

So glad to see Ryan Church back out there yesterday.  In his return Church was 2-4.  Having his bat back in the line up can only be a good thing for the Mets!  I am keeping my fingers crossed that there is truth to the rumor that Moises Alou could rejoin the team in Philly!   

Also, what is up with Jose Reyes?  For those of you who missed it yesterday, Reyes made a play on a grounder by Melky Cabrera, Reyes’ throw sailed over Delgado’s glove and Cabrera ended up on second.  Yeah, we’d all like Delgado to field a little better but if Reyes was throwing his glove in disgust at Delgado, I would not have wanted to be in the clubhouse after that little temper tantrum.  I can understand Reyes’ frustration, and I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and I sincerely hope that his reaction was because of his own bad throw, however Reyes should realize while Delgado should have made the play, he didn’t make an especially good throw either.  The Mets have to pull together as a team; this is not a time to fall apart.  I know a lot is being made of remarks by Johan Santana after his start against the Yankees.  He said something to the affect that he is doing his job, and that basically the other guys need to do their jobs too.  I know that you aren’t supposed to “call out” your teammates like that, but I get where Santana is coming from.  He should be mad; he isn’t getting the run support he needs, and has been the victim of some shoddy defense as well.  I have said that Santana hasn’t been as good as I thought he would be, and I realize that my expectations are unreasonable.  Santana has pitched very well, especially for a team that has given him little or no run support. The Mets offense didn’t even show up for Saturday’s game, and that has been the case when Santana has pitched.  If the Mets offense was doing its job he could easily be 11-3 on the season.

The Mets have eight games left going into the all star break.  In these next few games we are going to learn a lot about the Mets.  They play four with the Cardinals who are 47-36 and sit 2.5 games behind the Cubs.  The Mets then head to Philly for four, the Phillies have seen their 7 game lead in the division dwindle to one as they haven’t exactly been playing the best baseball themselves.  The Mets must have a great road trip.  I can’t even predict what will happen.  I’d love for them to go 6-2 but I have a feeling that 4-4 is more realistic.  Then again, with this team, anything is possible (and I mean that both in a good and bad way).

John Maine will pitch for the Mets tonight and the Cardinal have Kyle Lohse on the mound.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. 

Mets Blog