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

One thing is for certain, the Mets never fail to make things interesting, or maybe I should say make things frustrating.  I guess at least last night’s frustration had a happy ending as the Mets won 4-2 in 12 innings.  

Oliver Perez was great yesterday.  He struggled a little in the first inning, but was great there after. He pitched seven shut out innings, allowing just four hits, while walking two and striking out four.  The Mets took a 1-0 lead off a Carlos Beltran’s homerun in the third, and Perez did something that Johan Santana failed to do in Friday’s game-he held the lead and did not give up a run. 

With the exception of Billy Wagner the Mets bullpen did their job.  When the Mets resumed play after the rain delay, I was less than confident that Pedro Feliciano would actually get Ryan Howard out, but he retired Howard on three pitches. Then of course, Aaron Heilman came in with two on and walked Pat Burrell, and I can’t even tell you what I was screaming at the television-but Heartattack Heilman kept it in check as he got Pedro Feliz to hit a weak grounder back to the pitcher to end the Phillies’ threat in the bottom of the eight.   Joe Smith got the win, he came in with two out in the bottom of the 10th and did not allow a run.  The Mets really got what they needed from that group of guys. 

I don’t know what’s up with Billy Wagner, but is it too much to ask him to close out a game, with out drama, just for once?  Seriously, for a guy who tries to be such a hard ass and tough guy, I have never seen such a wuss.  He can’t enter the game in the middle of an inning because of lack of intensity, he can’t come in for two innings, because he doesn’t get the same adrenaline rush-I guess that is why Mariano Rivera is the real “Sandman”.  When Wagner signed with the Mets, I think we all thought, Yes! We finally don’t have to worry about the ninth inning.  After years of watching John Franco, Armando Benitez, and Braden Looper it looked as if the Mets had the ninth wrapped up.  All we know is, when “Enter Sandman” plays at Shea, the only intensity we feel, isn’t excitement, it is almost dread. 

Mets offense was terrible, with runners in scoring position; they left a total of 14 guys on base.  No one was able to get the big hit to drive in some runs early in the game.  Maybe if the Mets offense had done their job we wouldn’t have to have the Wagner discussion today.  David Wright, had two big strikeouts, and stranded three guys on base, Marlon Anderson didn’t even get a hit.  Jose Reyes was 3-6 but none of those hits came with RISP.  Because of great pitching, (with the exception of Wagner, but I guess that goes without saying) it looked like the Mets would only need two runs to win.  Carlos Beltran gave them the lead with his homerun in the top of the third, and added what was thought to be an insurance run in the top of the ninth. 

Ryan Church did not start on Sunday after leaving the game on Saturday with a migraine, so Endy Chavez was in right field and made a great catch in the top of the second.  Fernando Tatis who entered the game as a pinch hitter for in Marlon Anderson in the top of the 8^th, came through big time for the Mets with his game winning hit in the 12th.  It is a big boost when your bench gets it done; you know they are guys you can count on, and when the bench comes through, they feel like they can contribute and make the most of their opportunity to do so.  I like the way that Manual has juggled things, I also think that the way he has played Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro has worked out for the Met, it is good to get Castro’s bat in the line up and I don’t know if it is the rest or watching his playing time diminish but whatever it is, but Schneider got the big hit in Saturday night’s game, and he had another hit yesterday.  Manuals managerial style seems to illicit the competitive nature in these guys. 

Look, all complaining aside, this was a good win for the Mets, they fought hard.  They are in position to take the series from the Phillies and leave town one game over .500, and only 2.5 out, but the Mets have to win tonight to make that happen.  A split here, the Mets are basically just spinning their wheels, they’ll go home having not gained any ground, and again under .500.  Going in, the Mets had to make some headway on this road trip and really had to take control over getting themselves out of this rut to have a chance of finishing over .500 at the all star break and maybe even being in the mix for a pennant race

Pedro Martinez will be on the mound for the Mets and the Phillies with counter with Adam Eaton.  The Mets have a chance to take a step in the right direction tonight, but Pedro had been dreadful and Eaton is 5-0 lifetime against the Mets.  However, if there is one thing we know about this team, it is that anything can happen.  Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Mets Blog

The Mets topped the Cards on Tuesday night 7-4.  A combination of some lineup changes and a spot start by Tony Armas Jr. did the trick for the Mets as they bounced back from the disappointing opening game of this series. 

Armas made his first start in the bigs since September 10^th of last year when he was with the Pirates.  In his six innings of work he allowed four runs on eight hits, while walking just one and striking out three.  He was no where near dominant but did pitch well enough to keep the Mets in the game.  He struggled a bit in the first, giving up a double to Aaron Miles and then a long homerun to Rick Ankiel.  In the second inning, Yadier Molina lead off the inning with a single to center, he would advance to second on a sac bunt by the pitcher, and score on a double by Skip Schumaker.  Armas also struggled some in the sixth inning; Troy Glaus doubled to lead off the inning, and would take third a single to right by Chris Duncan.  Glaus would score on a sac fly by Molina that was caught by Ryan Church in foul territory. 

The Mets finally found some offense last night; Jerry Manual made some changes to the line up, putting Ryan Church in the fifth spot, and dropping Delgado to the sixth hole.  Brian Schneider got a night off as Ramon Castro did the catching.  Damion Easley took Luis Castillo’s spot at second, hitting behind Delgado.  The changes seemed to benefit everyone as Church and Delgado were a combined 5-8.  Church also had an RBI and scored two runs.  David Wright had a great night at the plate too; he was 3-4 with an RBI, a homer and a walk.  Carlos Beltran continues to struggle; he is now in a 3 for 29 slump dating back to the Seattle series. 

Who can figure these guys out?  One thing is for sure though, when you sit down and turn the game on, you never know what you are going to get.  The Mets fell behind early, which usually means they are mentally out of the game and just go through the motions until their nine innings of torture are over.  Last night, that wasn’t the case.  They fought back, and actually chased Todd Wellemeyer out of the game after five, taking advantage of the fact that he wasn’t pitching well.  The Mets still left seven guys on base last night, but they did get two two out RBI hits by both Castro and Wright, and that is something that the Mets have not done with any consistency.  Not that they have done anything with any consistency. 

It is great to have Ryan Church back in the line up.  I think it is a boost that the Mets really need.  He has picked up right where he left off, in the three games since his return, he is 5 for 12.  The Mets have really missed his bat.  I am getting giddy thinking about the return of Moises Alou though.  If the Mets heat up and play well the rest of this series and play well in Philly, they could come home in first place.  Gee-I sound almost optimistic.  I know, I’ll probably have to eat my words tomorrow. 

Pedro Martinez is scheduled to pitch for the Mets.  We are hopping to see a better Pedro tonight as he has determined that the problem in his last two starts (or there about) is that he has been tipping his pitches.  The Cardinals will have Joel Pineiro on the hill; Pineiro is 2-4 with a 4.33 era.  First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m.

Mets Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mets Blog

The New York Mets wrapped up their three game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon.  The Mets lost the rubber game of the series 5-4 in 10 innings.

Johan Santana started the game and put up probably his best performance so far in a Mets uniform.  He looked sharp, giving up just three hits, and three walks in seven innings of work while striking out 10-that’s right 10!  Of course, the bull pen tried to blow it for him.  Joe Smith came in to pitch the eighth and worked just 2/3 of a inning giving up two walks and two hits and allowing to runs to score.  Scott Schoeneweis came in to record the last out of the inning and preserve the Mets lead.

The Mets scored first in the second inning on a home run by Ramon Castro.  The second run of the game came off an RBI double by David Wright in the bottom of the third.  In the bottom of the 7^th with Dan Harren out of the game, the Mets added two runs.  Damion Easley was hit by a pitch, and Ramon Castro hit a long fly ball to center that was misplayed by Chris Young, Easley would advance to third on the double.  Both Castro and Easly would score on an RBI single to center off the bat of Fernando Tatis.  Jose Reyes hit a double that advanced Tatis to third, Endy Chavez drew a walk and with one out and the bases loaded, Edgar Gonzalez came in to the game-he would get David Wright to hit a pop up in foul territory on the first base side that was caught by Conner Jackson.  He would have to face Carlos Beltran again, but this time Gonzalez won the battle when Carlos flied out to centerfield to end the inning.  Stranding those runners would come back to haunt the Mets because our buddy Billy Wagner would blow another one. 

Wagner came in with a two run lead and with an opportunity to redeem himself from his disastrous outing in Wednesday night’s game.  Actually, Willie Randolph caught some heat for bringing him in after Pelfrey put a runner on to start the ninth.  See, apparently Billy can’t seem to get it up, (his intensity that is) to come into the game in the middle of an inning.  For Wagner, when he starts an inning he is 44-50 in save opportunities with a 2.05 ERA and has given up just six homeruns in those 88 innings.  That is a stark contrast when you compare Wagner’s numbers where he comes into a game in the middle of an inning; he is 3-6 in save chances with a 7.11 ERA, and has given up 3 homers in 6 1/3 innings.  I actually don’t think that Randolph made the wrong move.  Mike Pelfrey did not want to come out of the game and asked Randolph to leave him in.  Pelfrey pitched really well and deserved a shot at a complete game.  Billy Wagner needs to suck it up and do what has to be done.  I think that is especially true when you are the guy who has a lot to say to the media.  

So, I’m not sure then what his excuse was for giving up two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning in Thursday’s game.  He started the inning by walking the lead off man Miguel Montero, he then gave up a single to Stephen Drew, Chris Young doubled to left, scoring Montero, and allowing Drew to advance to third.  Augie Ojeda walked to load the bases, Orlando Hudson grounded to Jose Reyes who threw Drew out at the plate.  Connor Jackson hit a grounder to Jose Reyes, who flipped the ball to second base to get the force, but Drew would score and tie the game at four.  Wagner was able to strike out Mark Reynolds on a called third strike to end the inning, but the damage was done.  The Mets failed to score any runs in the bottom of the ninth and for a second straight game, the game went into extra innings.   

In the top of the tenth Aaron Heilman started the inning by giving up a double to Justin Upton, Jeff Salazar moved the runner to third on a sac bunt, and Upton would score on a sac fly by Miguel Montero.  The Mets could get nothing going offensively in the bottom of the ninth, Ramon Castro hit a popup in foul territory that was playable by Connor Jackson, Luis Castillo pinch hit for Heilman, getting aboard with a soft roller to second.  However, Chris Aguila hit into a double play to end the game. 

It can’t be lost on the Mets that as a team, they left 11 guys on base; the heart of the order being the biggest culprits, Wright stranded five, while Beltran stranded four.  They had opportunities and could not capitalize.  But today’s debacle belongs to the bullpen.  They were handed a four run lead and only had to hold it for three innings.  That is the problem though.  You can’t point to just one thing that is wrong with this team.  If you could then at least it could be fixed. When they get offense, and good starting pitching the bull pen stinks and so on.  This week it happens to be the bullpen, next week it will be the offense.   This team is a mess.  Whatever the case is, it is starting to look like a lost cause, and with that I am at a loss for words. 

The Mets start an interleague series with the Texas Rangers.  Oliver Perez will start for the Mets and he will be opposed by Scott Feldman.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

 Mets Blog 

The New York Mets lost their fourth straight game to the San Diego Padres 8-6 on Sunday afternoon.  The bats came alive early, in the first inning the Mets scored more runs than they had the first three games of the series. Howeve they were unable to capitalize on their offensive production.  With one swing of the bat, Tony Clark drove in the winning runs and the Padres completed a four game sweep, sending the Mets home to Shea 7 ½ games behind the first place Phillies. 

Pedro Martinez did not pitch well.  When he took the mound in the bottom of the first, he had a 3-0 lead.  The Padres scored their first run of the game off a balk by Martinez, for Pedro that was only the sixth balk of his career, the first one in ten years.  Pedro allowed three runs in the first inning, that marked the sixth straight start (dating back to last season) where Pedro had given up at least one run in the first.  Pedro went five innings, giving up four earned runs on ten hits with four strike outs. 

Endy Chavez had a great defensive play in the bottom of the first when he threw out Edgar Martinez at third to record the second out of the inning.  Endy Chavez had kind of gotten lost in the shuffle early on because  Marlon Anderson was getting so much playing time and plate appearances, but with both Ryan Church and Anderson unable to play, Chavez has come in and consistently played great defense and has had some good offensive production as well.  In the top of the seventh, Chavez laid down a perfect drag bunt that scored Delgado from third to add what was thought to be an insurance run, to give the Mets at 6-4 lead.    

Raul Casanova was the surprise starter behind the plate today, as Ramon Castro was a late scratch from the line up, not because of injury but because he overslept and did not show up until one hour before game time.  Great job by Castro, especially considering that he knew that he would be starting today with it being a day game after a night game and a lefty on the mound for the Padres.

Maybe I should write uncomplimentary things about Carlos Delgado every day (like I did in yesterday’s blog), after going 3-4 yesterday, Delgado was 3-5, hit two RBI came off a triple in the first inning.  Although the guys did have a better day offensively, the Mets as a team left nine guys on base.  Maybe a couple of other big hits might have saved this one for them today since their pitching let them down. 

For Billy Wagner, it was his third blown save of the season.  Wagner replaced Duaner Sanchez with two on and two out in the bottom of the eighth, he allowed a single to Jody Gerut which scored a run (that run was charged to Sanchez).  With the count full, pinch hitter Tony Clark took a fast ball deep to hit his first homer of the season and to give the Padres an 8-6 lead.  8-6 would be the final score as Trevor Hoffman came in to the game in the top of the ninth and the Mets were retired in order to end the game. 

The Mets did a terrible job; this weekend was a big weekend for them (and not in a good way).  They were coming off a stretch where they had just won three series in a row, and were playing the last place Padres, they should have taken three of four or at the very least split the series.  Not only were they playing the worst team in the National League, but their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies were playing each other, meaning the Mets could have gained some ground in the division.  The Braves were swept by the Phillies, and had the Mets played well against the Padres, they would be going home in the thick of the race.  Instead they now go home closer to last place than first.

 If this four game stretch wasn’t bad enough, the Mets return home to face the first place Arizona Diamondbacks who are scheduled to have Micha Owings, Brandon Webb and Dan Harren on the mound in this series.  The Mets will counter with John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, and Johan Santana.  The Mets are in trouble, they have put themselves in a position where every time they take the field now they need to win.  Yes, it is only the second week in June, but the Phillies 7 ½ game lead could become insurmountable quickly as the Phillies are hot right now and the Mets are not. 

Mets Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mets Blog

The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins 5-3 on Tuesday night.  Johan Santana pitched well and the Mets scored just enough that they were able to hold on and get the win.  It was just the Mets second win in nine games, but it was a good one, and for at least one night this Met fan left the ball park happy. 

There was a shake up in the Mets line up last night, manager Willie Randolph said “Give me players that want to play,” and he put together a line up that was without Carlos Delgado.  I believe it was a good move by Randolph to bench Delgado on Tuesday night.  According to New York papers, it was Delgado’s occasional defensive indifference that played a role in Willie benching him.  Randolph said he told Delgado that he has to “pick it up” and that Delgado was not happy about what Randolph had to say.  Good job by Willie because as it turns out, it was all about the bench guys last night.  Fernando Tatis played right field going 2-3 with 2 RBI and a stolen base, Ramon Castro was 2-3 with 2 RBI, Damion Easley played first and 1-3 with an RBI that came on a sac fly in the first.  Both Tatis’ and Castro’s RBI came with two outs, something the Mets have trouble doing. 

Johan Santana was good again last night, giving the Mets what they needed, and was their stopper once again.  Santana pitched 7 innings, giving up 8 hits, three earned runs, two walks, and 7K’s   He did allowed a homerun to Cody Ross.  That was 12th homerun Santana has allowed this season, he gave up 10 all of last year.  Duaner Sanchez pitched a scoreless eighth and Billy Wagner retired the side in order in the ninth.  

All in all the Mets did play much better last night.  Maybe it was a clear sign to them that Carlos Delgado was sitting on the bench and that Nick Evans was playing the field, a contrast between an indifferent veteran and an eager rookie.  That is all us Mets fans are looking for, guys who want to play the game.  Yes, ok, we’d like some wins too, and last night we got one.  

The Mets and Marlins wrap up the rubber game of the series tonight.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.  Oliver Perez will pitch for the Mets and Scott Olson will throw for the Marlins.  

 Mets Blog

The New York Mets played a day night double header against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, losing the first game 6-1 and the second game 6-2.  Just when you start to think that maybe the Mets are heading in the right direction after their great weekend against the Yankees, the Mets let us down again and under perform and all that negative talk starts again. 

Tom Glavine started game one for the Braves, and in the first inning the Mets had him on the ropes, jumping out to a 1-0 lead off Luis Castillo’s first home run of the season.  The Mets loaded the bases but Moises Alou hit a line drive to Chipper Jones, and Carlos Delgado hit a long fly ball that was tracked down by right fielder Jeff Francoeur after that, Glavine retired the next 17 batters he faced.  Too bad Glavine didn’t pitch that well when he was with the Mets.   

The Mets offense was feeble once again, I know I’ve used that word before, but how else can it be described?  Seriously, the Mets got one run off six hits off Galvine in the first game, and in the second game, against Jorge Campillo, who hasn’t started in the majors since 2005, they got only three hits and scored zero runs.  The Mets did finally score two in the top of the eighth on and RBI double by Ramon Castro, and an RBI single by Jose Reyes.    

Mets pitching woes continue, where was the John Maine who pitched against the Dodgers last week?  Yesterday’s John Maine pitched just four innings, (but did face two batters in the fifth) giving up eight hits, four earned runs, three walks and two strikeouts.  To be fair the Braves did a good job in their at bats against Maine, and ran counts full, fouling pitches off.  However, Maine didn’t exactly put anyone away either.  It wasn’t just Maine though; Aaron Heilman pitched one inning giving up a two run homer to Brian McCann.  The second game wasn’t much better.  Claudio Vargas coming off that great start against the Washington Nationals started for the Mets, however, he didn’t quite pitch as well as he did last week going five innings giving up four runs on five hits with two walk and one strike out.  The Braves added two more runs off Matt Wise who gave up a two run homer to Mark Kotsay.   

Of course, this negative talk isn’t helped by the fact that Willie Randolph is whining to the press that he is unfairly portrayed by SNY-the Mets own television station.  He also made remarks that the way he is treated might be related to race.  He has since back tracked on the race thing, but still believes that he is misunderstood.  Here is the gig Willie, all that Mets’ fans understand is wins and losses, and if you are whining when you are losing you are not leading.  There is a reason why your team is not performing, and it is hard to believe that it doesn’t have something with you not doing your job.  Funny, you told Billy Wagner to keep things in the club house, but you neglected to take your own advice.  If you guys don’t do something in the next two games against the Braves and in your next series against the Rockies, you’re going to return home to one unhappy Mets crowd, and none of this is going to get easier.   

So, if things aren’t bad enough, Ryan Church was hospitalized after the game with a concussion, he hit his head on the knee of Yunel Escobar when he tried to break up a game ending double play.  Not great news as Church is the only starter who has shown any constancy for the Mets. 

Tuesday was a sad day for this Mets fan when ex Met Mike Piazza released a statement regarding his official retirement from Major League Baseball.  Piazza was the reason I started watching the Mets.  He brought an excitement to Shea Stadium that no one has yet to recapture.  Here’s hoping we get to see Mike sometime in the future, maybe on baseball telecasts.     

First pitch for Wednesday’s night game is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.  The Mets will send Mike Pelfrey to the mound and he will be opposed by Jair Jurrjens. 

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The New York Mets wrapped up a four game series with the Washington Nationals, losing the final game 1-0, and dropping three of four.  Met’s starter Mike Pelfrey pitched a gem; he had a no hitter going through six, but in the top of the seventh Aaron Boone singled to right to break up Pelfrey’s no-hit bid.  I hope we see more of this Mike Pelfrey, he pitched great going, 7 2/3 giving up just three hits, one earned run, three walks, and four strike outs.  Too bad the Mets offense was no where to be seen.

The Mets got just five hits yesterday and have been pathetic at the plate the entire series-and pretty much the entire season.  David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Ramon Castro all had 0-fers yesterday.  Wright’s average is down to .268.  And when the Mets did get on base, they apparently forgot how to run the bases.  In the eight inning, Jose Reyes lead off with an infield hit, Luis Castillo came up to bunt which was supposed to move Reyes to second and would have except  Reyes’ aggressive nature got him in trouble, he noticed that no one was covering third and decided to try and take two bases on the sac bunt, however, Aaron Boone threw a perfect strike to Christian Guzman who beat Reyes in a footrace to the bag and like that Reyes was tagged out at third base for the second out of the inning.

Here is my question though, what was Willie Randolph doing?  Why is Castillo bunting there?  Isn’t Reyes supposed to get a chance to actually steal a base?  Isn’t that what he does?  Then once he steals second then maybe bunt him over to third?  You know from watching Mets games, when Reyes in on first with the threat of a steal, it puts a lot of pressure on an opposing pitcher.  Randolph jumped the gun there, he has to let it play out; he has said more than once that he thinks Castillo is still there best two hole hitter, so then let him do his thing Willie.  Seriously, I know it was a tight game, I know the Mets needed to win, but it all seemed to not make sense.  Maybe you can tell that there is a sense of urgency and that everything is not all ok, like Randolph likes to make it sound.  It is getting a little late in the season to say that it is still early.  The Mets have been terrible.  Not just this season, but dating back to the end of last year.  In fact, in a whole calendar year, the Mets are a .500 team.  And we all know with the money they have spent and with the talent on this team, they are way under achieving. 

I think we are starting to get some insight into the dynamics of the Mets Clubhouse.  Billy Wagner pretty much put it out there yesterday when he made comments to the New York newspaper reporters and reiteratied his point again on his weekly radio spot, his point was that everyone has to be held accountable, and that he is sick of the other guys not holding up their end of the bargain.  It seems he was talking about the Carloses.  Rarely do either Beltran or Delgado answer questions, however yesterday, Carlos Beltran was available to the press and did answer some questions, but more often than not, guys like David Wright and Billy Wagner are left to answer for their teammates.  Paul LoDuca said basically the same thing last year, but it turned into a problem because his comments came across as racist, he said some thing to the affect of, talk to those guys over there, they speak English.  But like Wagner and Wright this year, last year LoDuca was often the go to guy for quotes because other guys didn’t make themselves available to the press. 

The fact is, the guys who have a lot to do with how poorly the team is playing right now, don’t seem to want to be accountable.  Even Aaron Heilman, who is a head case and who just stinks right now, even he answers questions after he has a terrible outing.  Now I am not a huge Heilman fan right now, but I respect the fact that he stood in there and answered questions about why he stinks!

Mets fans get killed here local on sport talk radio and in the newspapers for booing this Mets team-and while I’m not really one for booing I understand.  This is what is it, and this is New York.  These guys make a lot of money, they have a strong fan base, and they get a lot of media attention, but some how they don’t want to be accountable.  I think they have really fragile egos, and I think the Carloses are the biggest of the babies.  Enough is enough and if these guys don’t get this figured out soon, Willie Randolph is going to be standing on an unemployment line-and I’m starting to think that might not be a bad place for him right now. 

The Mets start a three game series with the last place New York Yankees tonight.  Johan Santana will pitch for the Mets and the Yankees will send Darrell Rasner to the mound.  Game time is set for 7:05 pm.  

Mets Blog