The Mets beat the Braves last night 7-3.  Going into the eighth inning, it looked as if the Mets would drop yet another game to the Braves, but lucky for the Mets, because for one night, the bullpen that blew the game was wearing red and blue, not orange and blue.   

The Mets scored two in the first inning off Braves’ starter Jo-Jo Reyes on a David Wright sac fly and a double by Fernando Tatis.  However, the offense stopped there and for six straight innings the Mets did not get another hit.  However, in the bottom of the eighth, down 3-2 the Mets got a little help from the Braves bullpen.  Jeff Bennett retired Jose Reyes on a ground out, but then he issued back to back walks to Nick Evans and David Wright and Carlos Beltran got aboard to load the bases on a little blooper that Chipper Jonescould not make a plan on. The Mets, who have just been awful with the bases loaded, now had Carlos Delgado at the plate, Delgado who has cooled off since that amazing run in July had a terrible game at the plate on Monday against the Pirates.  For whatever reason, Bobby Cox elected to bring in the lefty-now I know that is by the book, but Delgado has smoked lefty pitching, Delgado hit a double off the fence in left center that was only a few inches from leaving the yard, two runs scored to put the Mets on top 4-3.  Easley hit a single to center that scored both Carloses, and then Ramon Castro drove home a run with a double to left.  In all, the Mets scored five in the inning and won the game 7-3.  The Mets finally got someone to hit with runners in scoring position.  It’s about time.  It was really unexpected also because after the first inning, the offense looked like it wasn’t going to do anything.  And for one night, the bullpen didn’t blow it.   

Oliver Perez struggled last night, he walked five stuck out three and allowed three runs on seven hits.  Luis Ayala jumped right into the fire, as he entered the game in relief for Perez with two on, Ayala got both batters he faced to pop up, ending the threat there.  Aaron Heilman worked the eighth inning, he allowed one hit and walked one but did not give up any runs.  Scott Schoeneweis worked the ninth inning to close the game out.  And, after it was all said and done, Schoneweis basically said to the press that it was nice that the other team’s bullpen was the story on the night.  

This series against the Braves is one of those must wins.  The Braves are terrible on the road, and again lat night lost a game in which they had a one run lead.  Combine that with the fact that the Phillies are playing the Nationals, and the Nationals have lost 11 straight, the Mets are going to have to do their part to not lose any ground in the standings.  

So, the Mets got bad news on Billy Wagner.  And then Billy Wagner has to turn around and tell us how we can’t understand how hard it is to go out there and do what they do day after day-being picked on in the press-well Billy, boo-hoo.  If you don’t like, don’t play in New York.  I mean, you played in Philly, you had to have some idea of what you were getting yourself into.  If you want fans who don’t care, go play for the Marlins, who even though they are winning can’t get anyone in the stands.  Shut up-before you end up with an inflamed jaw. 

And on a funnier note, there was a conference call set to take place yesterday between the umpires, major league baseball and whoever else.  Turns out, the Umps missed the call again; see, they are boycotting the usage of instant replay.  While I still haven’t figured out what my position is on this matter, I can tell you one thing-if they’d gotten the myriad of calls right over the season, then this would be a non-issue.  But the fact that they go out there night after night and continue to screw up calls has brought baseball to this point.  I have harped on this over and over, if there is anyone out there reading this on a steady basis, you know that I’ve been killing the officiating of these games all season. 

The Mets and Braves play the second of three tonight.  The Mets will send Mike Pelfrey to the mound, he is 11-8 with a 3.91 era.  The Braves will counter with their “ace” Jair Jurrjens who is also 11-8 but with a much lower era of 3.15.  Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

Mets Blog 

The Mets finally got a decent performance out of their bullpen and held on to win 3-2 in Washington on Tuesday night.  With Johan Santana on the mound you almost automatically think the bullpen will blow it.  However, Santana did get his 10th win of the season, he pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on eight hits; he walked two and struck out six.  

Jerry Manual elected to pinch hit for Johan Santana in the top of the eighth inning.  Santana was visibly unhappy about leaving the game at that point.  Listen, considering how the bullpen has pitched as of late, and particularly how they seem to pitch in relief for Santana, I can imagine that he was not too happy about leaving the game in the hands of the bullpen.  Also, now he’ll have to hear that he only gave the Mets seveninnings, he hadn’t even thrown 100 pitches.  Listen, Santana wasn’t exactly stellar last night, he relinquished the lead on two occasions.  In the bottom of the first with a two run lead, Santana gave up two in the bottom of the inning.  Then, with the Mets winning 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, he gave up a solo pinch hit homer to Ryan Langerhans-it was Langerhans’ first homer of the season.  However, Santana pitched well enough to get the win and after what he has been through with this bullpen, it was good to see that he finally got one. 

If someone had told you in March that Santana wouldn’t get his 10th winuntil the middle of August, you would think that something ridiculous had happened, and the truth is, the bullpen has been ridiculous.  If the bullpen had been able to hold leads in the games that Santana started he would be a 15 game winner right now.  Since the all star break, the Mets bullpen has a 6.82 era, the worst in the majors.  After the latest debacle against the Pirates in Monday’s make up game, Jerry Manual vowed to shake things up.  Scott Schoeneweis called a bullpen only meeting challenging guys to step up and go out and do what has to be done.  Apparently, it must have worked because both Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano threw scoreless innings to finish out the game last night.  Smith worked the eighth, he allowed on hit and stuck out two.  Feliciano worked the ninth, he did not allow a hit or a walk and stuck out two, Feliciano also earned his first save of the season. 

The Mets scored two in the top of the first, Nick Evans singled with one out, and scored on a two out double by Carlos Beltran.  Beltran would score on a single to center by Carlos Delgado.  The Mets scored one in the third to go ahead 3-2 on a RBI double by Carlos Beltran.  Beltran had a better night at the plate last night, he was 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.  He left two guys in scoring position when he stuck out with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.  However, hitting in the cleanup spot seems to agree with him, and given that winning these games against Washington and Pittsburgh are so important, hopefully, Beltran can really get it going.  The Mets left the bases loaded againin the top of the eighth inning. 

Good thing Damion Easley got hit in the head by a pitch in the top of the eighth ( he wasn’t actually “hit”more like the ball just grazed his helmet), otherwise the Mets would not have gotten a run home from third withless than two outs at all in the game.  What a terrible job by the Met’s hitters in that spot.  Dan Murphy pinch hit for Ramon Castro and struck out.  Then Brian Schneider pinch hit in the pitcher’s spot and struck out also, for that Santana could have batted and stayed in the game. 

A win is a win, and because the Phillies lost to the Dodgers on Tuesday night, the Mets sit in second place just one game out.  This is really a make or break road trip for the Mets.  The bullpen has got to get straightened out because the Mets are in a situation where a couple of losses in a row could be very hard to overcome.  Yes, the Mets do have five games left with the Phillies, so there is that to keep in the back of your mind, but the Marlins are not going away just yet.  The Mets meet the Marlins six more times, three of those games are the last three games of the regular season.  While we are discussing the last week of the season, the Mets are at home but play three with the Chicago Cubs and three with the Marlins; at that same time the Phillies will be at home for three against Atlanta and Washington.  So, really, the time to make up ground is getting short so the Mets must take advantage of the next two series and win some games. 

Ryan Church had a good work out down in Florida and is feeling good.  The Mets have still not set a time frame for his rehab assignment.  Carlos Muniz was sent down to Triple A New Orleans and Brian Stokes will stay with the team.  Luis Castillo’s return from the DL has been delayed “indefinitely” because he has been away from workouts attending to a personal family matter.  That or he realizes that when he returns he will be sitting on the bench.  Either way, let him stay down in Florida. 

The Mets and the Nats meet up again Wednesday night.  John Maine, fresh off his stint on the 15 day DL will start for the Mets and the Nationals will have Jason Bergmann on the mound.  Maine is 9-7 with a 4.13 Bergmannis 2-8 with a 4.13 era.  Game time is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

Mets Blog           

Is it really unreasonable to believe that your relievers should do their job and get some outs-without giving up a four run lead.  I have heard time and time again that the Mets bullpen isn’t terrible, it is just that guys have not performed as they are capable of performing.  Well, Monday’s loss marked the ninth time this season that the Mets lost a game in which they were leading in the eighth inning or later.  Imagine where the Mets would be if they’d even won five of those games. 

This bullpen is a disaster and I am getting so sick of discussing them and the way that they continue to go out there and blow leads or fail to keep the Mets in games.  The Mets made no moves at the trade deadline-and I agree they should not trade the future for a rental, but I’d really like to know what their game plan is.  Step number one should be to get rid of Aaron Heilman.  While I realize it was not just Heilman’s fault that the Mets lost today, I am sick of watching this guy and believe that a change of venue would do both Heilman and the Mets fans a world of good.  The sulky underachiever needs to go, he can’t pitch here-he is a total head case and the fans hate him, they start to boo when he warms up.  I am serious when I say that I think he is done here in New York.  I think his ego is too fragile he is the crowd’s favorite whipping boy-when John Maine comes back to the rotation it is Heilman who should go. 

I know that the problem is not just Heilman, no one in that bullpen has been able to step up.  Joe Smith allowed two runs on one hit-failing to record and out in the inning, Pedro Feliciano entered the game and allowed two inherited runners to score, he allowed one run on one hit and one walk.  Duaner Sanchez worked an inning and a third with out giving anything up.  But it is Heilman who has had five save opportunities and has blown three of them.  He allowed three runs on two hits and one walk in just one third of an inning.  Two of Heilman’s runs actually crossed the plate with Scott Schoeneweis on the mound.  Schoeneweis  allowed a two run single before recording the last out of the inning. 

The bullpen disaster wiped out the fact that Pedro Matinez had a really good start.  For the first time in like forever, Pedro did not allow a run in the first inning.  In fact, Pedro hardly allowed anything.  He left the game throwing just under 100 pitches.  In six innings of work he allowed just one run on three hits, he walked four and stuck out three.  It was a much better job by Pedro and it was just what the Mets needed.  Only the bullpen did not get the memo.  I know that when you are part of team you have to forgive and forget because one day you might just be the reason your team loses, but I can’t imagine any Met pitcher wants to hand the ball over to the bullpen.  What is amazing too, is the only guy who gets grief for not going deep into the game is Johan Santana. 

The offense got on Zach Duke early.  At one point the Mets were leading the game 4-0.  And really, when you are leading a game by four runs, you should win the game.  David Wright got the Mets on the board with a three run homer in the bottom of the first.  Against the Pirates Monday, Wright was 2-5 with a homer and three RBI; in his last six games, Wright is 12-27 hitting .444 with three homers and nine RBI.  Robinson Cancel made the start in place of Ramon Castro, Cancel was 2-4 on the day hitting his first career homerun.  It seems too, that Castro is wearing thin on Jerry Manual.  This conversation has been rehashed many times over, Castro is lazy -that is why he is a back up and not an every day catcher, he doesn’t want to work that hard.  Manual was annoyed that Castro did not play, and called him out in his remarks to the press.  He basically said that Castro has the OK of the medical staff to play, but it is up to the player to tolerate the pain and play through it. 

This loss it the kind of thing that makes you shake your head.  It actually makes me insanely angry, and I really feel that the Mets are in trouble.  I am sick of guys not gutting it out.  It almost seems like it did earlier this season.  My beef then was with the offense and the lackadaisical play in the field, now it is with the relief pitiching.  These guys have one job to do, and they have been ineffective nearly the whole season.  And, not it is not just one guy-the whole bullpen stinks.  Billy Wagner is supposed to come off the DL one week from today.  I’m not sure though if we are supposed to be excited by that or not, but I do know he won’t be worse than Heilman has been. 

Mets Blog

Well, it appears that the Marlins are bad luck for Mike Pelfrey.  The last time Pelfrey “lost” a game was against the Marlins in late May.  He didn’t fare to well in this start either.  In four innigs of work he allowed five runs on eight hits, he struck out three and didn’t walk a batter.

For whatever reason, Pelfrey just lost it in the fourth inning.  He didn’t really give up much to the Marlins in the first three; but in the fourth, Jeremey Hermdia tripled to lead of the inning and scored on a single by Jorge Cantu.  Cantu would advance to second on a single by Josh Willingham.  After Dan Warthen visited the mound, Pelfrey then got Dan Uggla to strike out swinging and Mike Jacobs flied out to center.  With two out, the Marlins put together three straight extra base hits.  Cody Ross tripled, scoring both Cantu and Willingham.  John Baker hit a double to center, scoring Ross; the the pitcher Josh Johnson hit a RBI double.  In all the Marlins would score five in the inning and take a 5-1 lead. 

The Mets had plenty of scoring chances but they hit into double plays in the first, second and third innings.  The heart of the order, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran were a combined 0-11.   Damion Easley hit a three run pinch hit homer in the top of the seventh.  The Mets tacked on one more run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by Ramon Castro, but with two on and two out Jose Reyes flied out to left to end the inning. 

Wednesday nights loss  was a combination of things, the Mets didn’t hit, they didn’t get great starting pitching and Joe Smith didn’t help matters.  So, the Mets are now a half game out of first place and we knew that the lead would change hands a bunch of times before all is said and done.  This is the first series the Mets lost in the month of July.  No need to panic, but just a little reason to be disapointed.  We all know that the Mets were bound to lose a series at some point, I was just hoping they would lose the game on the night that the Phillies lost. 

While the Mets play three in Houston, the Marlins will play four with the Rockies and the Phillies will wrap up a four game series with the Nationals on Thursday and then play three in St. Louis. 

Friday’s pitching match up Pedro Martinez will take the mound for the first time in two weeks he is 3-2 with a 6.25 era.  Brandon Backe 6-10 with a 4.73 era.  Game time is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. 

Mets Blog 

RECAP

The Mets wrapped up the three game series with the Cardinals with a 9-1 win.  They did not make up any games in the standings as the Phillies beat the Braves.  What matters is that the Mets won the series, came back looking reenergized after that very long game on Saturday night, and continue to play well.  So well in fact that they are 23-13 since the managerial change, they have won 11 of their last 13 at Shea, and have won 12 of the 15 “rubber games” of three game series, and they are 9 games over .500.  

In nine innings Johan Santana threw 118 pitches, allowed just six hits, one run (a homer to Pujols).  Santana walked one and stuck out five. This was the first complete game for Santana in nearly two years, and it was the first complete game by a Mets pitcher since 2006.  His complete game was just what the Mets, specifically the bullpen needed.  

The offense was great, they handed Cardinal’s starter Kyle Lohse his first loss since May.  The Mets had had a lot of trouble against Lohse when the two teams met up in St. Louis earlier in the season, but Sunday it was all about the Mets offense.  David Wright hit his 20^th homer of the season and has now scored in 11 straight games; he was 3-5 with 2 RBI.  Carlos Beltran was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored, Fernando Tatis was 3-4, with two doubles and a homer he scored twice and drove in two, Ramon Castro hit a two run homer.  Everyone in the starting line up had at least one hit, even Johan Santana had two hits and drove in a run, his first in the NL.  There was some talk about Santana’s second hit as he hit a ball that he believed was going to be foul and did not run it out, and then when he realized that it was fair he only jogged to first.  He said that he was embarrassed, but was glad that he ended up scoring before the inning ended.   

Carlos Beltran made one hell of a catch yesterday, robbing Ryan Ludwick of a homerun.  I must have watched that replay over and over, that catch had to have been #1 on Sports Center’s top plays.  Not only did Beltan rob Ludwick of the homer, it didn’t even look as if he would have a shot at the ball, it looked almost as if it would go over his head, but he tracked it down, jumped up on the wall, and reached over to keep the ball from going out. 

TRADE TALK

I don’t know if the Mets will make any moves but I have read that the Mets have inquired about reacquiring Chad Bradford, I liked Bradford the first go around, and was disappointed when the Mets did not resign him.  He has 45 appearances with Baltimore this year, with a 3-3 record and a 2.56 era.  Bradford has pitches 38.2 innings, given up 17 runs, only 11 earned.    It doesn’t look like the Mets will have a shot at Jason Bay, Pittsburgh wants four guys in return-which is amazing considering that they let both Nady and Marte go for only four guys, but whatever.  It also seems that the Mets might have interest in Randy Winn.  Winn is 34 years old, owed 8.5 million next season, hitting .275 from the three spot, and has 5 homeruns, 40 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.  I’m all for getting Bradford, but I just think that Winn is too old, is owed too much money, and just isn’t the right fit for the Mets line up.  But I guess we’ll see what happens.   

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 were lucky to get out of Cincinnati with a split after winning Sunday 7-5 in 10 innings.  The Mets relinquished the lead on two occasions, but nonetheless, they pulled out the victory and found themselves again with a share of first place.   

Starter Mike Pelfrey, who has been very good as of late, winning his last six starts, did not figure in the decision, pitching seven giving up five runs on six hits while walking just one and striking out three.  Pelfrey, who has only allowed four homeruns in 108 2/3rds innings, allowed three homers in this game.  However, because he did pitch seven innings, the Mets were able to preserve their bullpen.  Duaner Sanchez pitched two scoreless innings in relief, walking one and striking out two.  Billy Wagner recorded his 24^th save of the season, and struck out each of the three batters he faced to close out the game.   

The Mets found some of the hits that had eluded their bats in Saturday’s loss.  The were facing Edinson Volquez, who has not allowed more than three runs, in all but one of his previous 19 starts.  He allowed four hits on 8 hits, while walking three and striking out 3.  Carlos Beltran gave the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single, and the Mets tacked on two more in the second on Ramon Castro’s two run homer. 

Both Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes had monster days at the plate.  Jose Reyes was 4-6 yesterday with three runs scored and one stolen base.  He hit his 11th triple of the season and 63 career triples, passing Mookie Wilson’s for the Mets all time record.  

Delagado didn’t just have a good game yesterday, he had a great series.  He has had eight hits, scored three runs and recorded five RBI in the series.  In Sunday’s game he was 3-4 with 2 RBI.  Delgado’s hit in the 7^th tied the game at 5 and his sacrifice fly in the top of the 10^th gave the Mets a 7-5 lead.   

The Mets had two errors in Sunday’s game.  They really need to play better if they are going to make in headway against the Phillies this week. The Mets and Phillies open a three game series at Shea on Tuesday night.  The Phillies lost 2-3 of three to the Marlins.  You have to think that the wild card team is coming out of the central as the Cubs, Cardinals, and Brewers are all within games of each other and are playing pretty good baseball as of late; although the Cubs have struggled some after getting off to such a hot start.   

Johan Santana will start the game on Tuesday for the Mets.  Santana was putrid in his last outing and then blamed it on Billy Joel.  He has an opportunity here to win some Mets fans over with a good start against the Phillies.  Santana has one win and a no decision in his starts against the Phillies this year, in those starts, he has allowed five runs, walking none, and striking out 16 in 15 innings.   

Not to be overly dramatic, but this is a big series for the Mets.  They are at home, for the most part have (or at least had) been playing pretty good ball, and they are 7-3 against the Phillies so far this season.  They have to play well, they really need to win the series and show the Philllies that they aren’t going away. 

The Philllies will have the newly acquired Joe Blanton on the mound.  In two starts against the Mets, Blanton has thrown 15 shutout innings.  Game time Tuesday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

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

The Mets extended their win streak to 9 with a 7-0 win over the Rockies.  The Phillies won yesterday so the Mets knew going in to play last night that they would not be in first place at the all star break, but the Marlins lost and so the Mets take sole possession of second place.   

Mike Pelfrey was amazing last night.  I can’t believe it is the same guy.  For a second consecutive start he did not allow any walks.  He worked eight scoreless innings allowing just six hits and striking out five.  Pelfrey also got some help from his defense last night as the Rockies grounded into three double plays.   

The Mets took an early lead on a Carlos Beltran three run homer in the bottom of the first.  That was Beltran’s second three run homer in six games.  The Mets scored again the second inning on an RBI single by Jose Reyes.  In the fourth inning, Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro got aboard with singles and would advance into scoring position by a Mike Pelfrey sac bunt, Tatis would score on a sac fly by Nick Evans.  In the bottom of the fifth, Carlos Delgado hit his 17^th homer of the season, a two run blast that almost hit the scoreboard in right center field.  

Carlos Delgado is in a good grove right now.  Given how he stared the season, I would not have thought that the Mets would have been able to get as much out of him as they have thus far.  Delgado now has his average up to .248.  In the month of July in his 49 at bats he is hitting .376 with 3 homers and 7 RBI. 

There has been a lot of talk about the Mets acquiring Raul Ibanez from the Seattle Mariners.  Ibanez is a 35 year old left fielder, whom I believe is in his last year of his contract with Seattle; because of this the Mets think they can get him for little in return.  Ibanez is a career .284 hitter and has spent his time American League having played for both the Mariners and the Royals.  This year in 95 games he is hitting .273 with 11 homeruns, 55 RBI and 1 stolen base.    

The Mets are close to having Angel Pagan back, he is currently completing his rehab stint with the Brooklyn Cyclones.  Ryan Church played catch and did some work in the cages at Shea yesterday, it is thought that he is making progress and if things stay that way he could begin a rehab assignment as early as this week.  Jerry Manual did say in his post game remarks that he would like to get Church some at bats (in a rehab start) before making a decision about his return to the Mets.  Church is eligible to return from the DL on July 21^st. 

One last note on injuries, Jerry Manual insisted that when Luis Castillo returns from the DL next week he will not have the starting second base job waiting for him.  Manual who has a penchant for staying with the hot hand says that he feels they are getting good production out of Argenis Reyes and Damion Easley.  According to the New York Post, when Manual was asked about the status of Castillo when he returns from the DL he replied, “When the time comes, we’ll make a decision on that and see how it fits…We’re really playing well at that position - I mean, very well. It’s going to be a tough one.” 

If anyone caught the futures game yesterday, they would have had a glimpse of what is to come for the Mets.  Fernando Martinez played great and created a lot of buzz.  He was 1-2 with a single in yesterday’s game.  This season Martinez is with Double A Binghamton and is hitting .294 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 52 games.  Martinez, who turns 20 in October, was the fourth youngest player in yesterday’s contest.  The comments about him were that he is a gifted athlete with a beautiful swing.  Martinez says he believe he will play with the Mets sometime this season.  I for one would love to see it!   

The Mets are playing so well that I hate that the all star break is here, you hate to break up a good thing.  The positive to this is that they open up in Cincinnati knowing that they really have a chance to be at the top of the division with the Marlins and Phillies playing each other.  More than ever after seeing what the Mets have done this far, that saying, that is why they play the games, comes to mind.  If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I was fairly certain that the Mets would finish either 3^rd or 4^th in the division with a record somewhere around .500.  But, after seeing what they have done these past few weeks we’ve finally seen the team we’ve been looking for since last year after the all star break.  I don’t know what will happen, but I do know there is a lot to look forward to in the second half!   

LET’S GO METS! 

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