Mets won 8-2 on Wednesday night salvaging the last game of their interleague series against the Seattle Mariners.  Hopefully this win can propel them into a productive series against the Yankees this coming weekend. 

After the poor offensive output on Tuesday, Jerry Manual said that lineup changes might be in store for his team.  However, Wednesday night’s line up looked pretty much the same, the only changes were Marlon Anderson in left field and Fernando Tatis in right field.  The Mets scored eight runs on five hits, and all of those coming in the first three innings.  Jose Reyes was 1-3 hitting a three run homer in the bottom of the third; he also walked once and stole a base.  David Wright had a big night as he was 2-3 hitting two homeruns, three RBI and two runs scored.  Wright sat out on Tuesday night, missing his first start of the season and it seems that the day off did him some good. 

 The Mets are 17-8 when John Maine starts after a loss and Maine has a 13-6 record in those games.  On Wednesday Maine earned his 8^th win of the season, pitching well for the Mets when, according to catcher Brian Schneider they were faced with a “Must win” situation.  Having an early lead had to help, and Maine admitted as much in the post game interview.  Over six innings of work he allowed two runs on two hits, walked two and recorded three strikeouts.  The bullpen looked good, Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, and Duaner Sanchez all pitched scoreless innings in relief.   

Better game for the Mets on Wednesday night.  You had to figure they would play better than they did the night before, than again with the Mets you never know because it seems that the one knack this team does have, is finding ways to lose ballgames.  I know, this is going to sound like I am hard to please, but it is frustrating that the Mets always seem to coast.  For example, the Mets jumped out to an early lead, chased starter Miguel Bautista from the game after just 2 2/3 innings, and granted they scored 8 runs early, but they didn’t have another base runner past the third inning.  It seems like they get ahead and then just go through the motions for the rest of the game.  And forget it when they fall behind it is like the game stops there for them, they just can’t wait for it to be over; they don’t really fight their way back.  This season has been strange and unlike any other season I’ve seen from them before.  It is one thing when your team is just horrible, but this team doesn’t really have an identity other than underachieving. 

After the Mets fired Willie Randolph, I questioned why they would name Jerry Manual the “Interim Manager” thinking that if they were searching for a change of coaching philosophy, why would they go with Randolph’s right hand man?   But, Manual is growing on me a little bit.  However, I’d like it if his record as manager was a little better.  But  I guess what I like is that he is just a little more animated and fiery than Randolph.  No matter what the situation was, Randolph always put up the same face, and in some situations that is probably a really good thing, but I think when a team was struggling as much as the Mets were, it would have been nice to hear Willie say something that somehow made the fans feel like he was as frustrated as the fans were.  Manual, at least for right now, is saying the right things.

The Mets have an off day on Thursday and return Friday, playing a twilight doubleheader against the Yankees.  Game one is at Yankee Stadium scheduled to start at 2:05 p.m. with Mike Pelfrey will pitch game one for the Mets and Dan Giese for the Yankees.  Pedro Martinez and Sidney Ponson will start the night cap at Shea Stadium will begin at 8:05. 

Mets Blog

The New York Mets lost to the Seattle Mariners 5-2 when Johan Santana gave up a grand slam to Mariners’ pitcher Felix Hernandez in the second inning and the Mets never recovered.  That of course was the first homerun ever hit by a Mariners pitcher and it was the 14^th homerun Santana has given up so far this season.

This is getting old.  The Mets stink and I’m tired of watching it.  Comments after the game by Mets’ players basically said that Hernandez’s homerun was a fluke, and it was, but it cost the Mets the game.  The Mets keep finding ways to lose; they are a team that no one is afraid of.  Basically if your team jumps out to a lead, you’ll win, the Mets give up pretty early on if they are down by more than a run or two.  But even still, if you don’t score early then just wait for the bullpen, someone there is likely to serve one up.  This team is a mess. 

The Mets got just four hits last night and scored two runs, but the first run didn’t come until the fifth inning when the Mets were down 5-0.  That first run was a result of a lead off double by Carlos Beltran, he stole third and then scored on a wild pitch by Hernandez.  It was an exciting play at the plate, as Beltran never hesitated and the ball didn’t get far from the catcher.  Felix Hernandez was hurt on that play; he was standing on home plate when Beltran slid in and would leave the game with a sprained ankle.  Good job by Beltran there ( his aggressive play that is, not that he took Hernandez out of the game because that didn’t actually help the Mets) I’d like to see more of that from him, his aggressiveness on the base path was something that has been missing from his game for a long time. 

In the ninth inning the Mets looked as if they might have a little something going, Jose Reyes singled to center to lead off the inning but, Luis Castillo singled to short and Reyes was erased at second, Castillo would advance to second on a walk issued to David Wright.  Carlos Beltran who has been in a good groove hit a single to center scoring Castillo and moving Wright to second.  Carlos Delgado stuck out swinging and Damion Easley would be out on a called third strike.

So it has been a week since Willie Randolph was fired and the talk is still there.  Of course, the Mets haven’t exactly helped themselves by losing the way they did in Colorado on Saturday and again last night.  And in fact, unless the Mets start winning and really winning, the talk won’t fade.  And it doesn’t help matters that Jerry Manual called the Mets fans fertilizer (although that is a new one) or that her referred to Jose Reyes as a woman.  But hey, if you are Manual why not do what you want to do, what’s the worst that can happen? 

Last night the Mets had a chance to help themselves.  The Phillies’ lead has dwindled to one game; the Mets were sitting in third place three back, with Atlanta a game behind them.  Both the Marlins and Phillies were off last night and the Braves lost.  But instead of gaining ground, today the Mets are four back and one game under .500.   

The Mets are headed into a very tough place in their schedule.  When they wrap up the series with the Mariners they play four against the Yankees, they then go to St. Louis for three, are in Philadelphia for four before returning home to play the Giants and Rockies before the All Star break.  I don’t even want to think about what can happen in that stretch. 

First pitch for Tuesday night is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.  Oliver Perez will go for the Mets and the Mariners will counter with R.A. Dickey. 

Mets Blog

The New York Mets bounced back from their extra inning loss on Thursday, winning 7-1 and taking the first game of the interleague series against the Texas Rangers.  The Mets were desperate for a win and played well on Friday getting both great starting pitching and some offense.  On a day when reports again surfaced that Willie Randolph’s job is in jeopardy, the Mets went out to save him for one more day.   

Oliver Perez was on the mound for the Mets and with him you never know what you are going to get.  It looked as if it might be a long night when in the top of the first he gave up a homerun to Josh Hamilton.  But, that would not be the case.  Texas mustard just three hits the entire game.  Perez pitched seven solid innings only walking three (come on, if you’ve watched Ollie pitch, you know that is a big feat), he also had 8 strikeouts.  Perez has really benefited from having Pedro Martinez around.  Funny, both of their contracts expire at the end of the season, maybe they end up somewhere as a package deal.  All kidding aside, Perez has had two good outings since the debacle in San Francisco, but that is the problem, you never know which Perez will take the mound.  He did his job yesterday though and in a time when the Mets are really struggling he went out and put up a great performance.  Not only did Perez pitch well, he hit a single in the bottom of the sixth that drove in a pair of runs.    

The bullpen did their job as well.  And how long has it been since we could say that?  Then again, with a 7-1 lead you would hope that this would be a wide enough margin that the bullpen could hold the lead.  Scott Schoeneweis pitched an inning of relief and put up zeros across the board.  Duaner Sanchez came into the game in the ninth, issuing a walk but recording two strikeouts. 

The Mets scored two in the bottom of the first.  Jose Reyes got aboard with a single and moved to second on a ground out by Luis Castillo.  With David Wright hitting, Reyes advanced to third on a balk, Wright hit a bullet, but right to second baseman Ian Kinsler.  Carlos Beltran hit into right field and Reyes would score.  Carlos Delgado drew a two out walk, and he and Beltran would successfully complete a double steal with Marlon Anderson at the plate.  Anderson hit a bouncer to third, but German Duran’s throw sailed on him, and Anderson was safe at first and Beltran would score to make it 2-1  The Mets would add another run in the bottom of the fifth on a sac fly by Wright.

 In the bottom of the sixth the Mets did what they had failed to do during their losing streak, and that was tacking on runs late in the game.  Carlos Delgado singled to lead off the inning; he would score on a single to right by Marlon Anderson, Brian Schneider would single to right and that advanced the runner to third.  Endy Chavez hit a ground rule double (by fan interference) allows Anderson to score and Schneider to take third.  After a pitching change, Oliver Perez hit a bloop single that just cleared the glove of the short stop allowing both Anderson and Schneider to score and the Mets would go on to win it 7-1. 

The Mets played much better on Friday night.  But the whole team seems to be in shambles.  As I mentioned before the stuff with Willie Randolph has to stop.  Either fire him or put it to rest.  Enough already!  To me, he seems less culpable in this last go around then he was early in the season when the Mets were just going through the motions.  But seriously, how can players respect a guy whose job is hanging by a thread?  Why listen to him if he could be gone tomorrow?

Here is a surprise; Moises Alou is on the DL again, with the same calf injury that landed him there the last go-around.  Clearly they are not going to be able to count on him and they have acquired Trot Nixon from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Who knows when Ryan Church will play again and whether he’ll be able to come back and be the player he has been for the Mets prior to the head injury. 

I don’t know if anyone caught the Phllies-Cardinals score last night.  In case you missed it, they won 20-2; Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell hit back to back to back homers.  The Phillies are a very good team, and they play so differently from how the Mets play, almost like how the Mets played in 2006 and in parts of 2007.  I wish we could get those Mets back.  The Mets are in trouble, the Phillies are the team to beat, and in a head to head match up I think the Phillies would kill us right now. 

The Mets and Rangers continue their series tonight with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m.  The Mets send Pedro Martinez to the mound and the Rangers will counter with Kason Gabbard. 

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 won their third straight game on Thursday night beating the Los Angels Dodgers 8-4.  The Mets are now back at .500 and sit 4 games out of first.  Not only did the Mets spoil Joe Torre’s return to New York, but they manhandled Brad Penny once again.  Penny is now 5-13 lifetime against the Mets is 1-10 at Shea Stadium.   

The Mets had 13 hits last night and David Wright continued his dominance against Penny, hitting two two run homers in last night’s game.  In 21 career at bats against Penny, Wright is hitting a whopping .524 with four home runs, five walks and 19 RBI.  Wright’s average is now up to .284 after going 2-4 with 4 RBI in last nights win.  Luis Castillo, Endy Chavez, and Brian Schneider all had RBI as well. 

The Mets got great defense last night, in the first inning Endy Chavez made a great play to throw out Juan Pierre at the plate to keep the Dodger’s off the board.  Later in the game Carlos Delgado made a great play on a line drive to first, and just missed doubling Russell Martin off first. 

The Mets have done a good job in these past three games.  I don’t know if it is the orange jacket, if it is the fact that Willie seems like he is safe for the time being, or if it is the thought of getting Pedro back, but something has clicked and the Mets have been a much better team, might even be the best we’ve seen them play since the Yankee series.

I applaud Willie Randolph for sitting Carlos Delgado those two games against the Marlins, Delgado was 2-4 last night and played good defense.  When asked about the manager’s decision to sit him those two games, Delgado told the press that he understood where Willie was coming from.  According to the New York sports pages, when asked how he’d feel about a platoon at first, Delgado basically said, that he and Willie would have a problem if that were the case.  Wow-really Carlos?  You are hitting .222 and have killed the Mets this year.  I realize that at one point you were a superstar, but you haven’t shown the Mets that in a year and a half.  I guess you don’t get that “Whatever is best for the team” concept, huh?

The Mets looked so much better the past three nights, watching them has been fun again!  They hustled, played hard, and did not give up.  They have gotten some good pitching performances, and their bull pen has been great.  They are also getting two out hits which is something that we haven’t seen them do.  I get that winning three straight is too soon to proclaim that the Mets are back, but it sure is nice to watch them play good ball once again. 

The Mets will send John Maine to the hill tonight and he will be opposed by Clayton Kershaw who made his Major League debut just five days ago against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Game time is 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 wrapped up their seven game road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday afternoon.  The Mets went 1-6 on this trip that included a four game sweep by the Atlanta Braves.  Things don’t look much better for the Mets as they return home to face the first place Florida Marlins.   

For the Mets it was the same old story, no offense and shoddy defense.  John Maine actually pitched pretty well on Sunday, going six giving up four hits, and four run-three earned, four walks and eight strikeouts.  In the bottom of the fourth, Maine had yet to give up a hit when Jose Reyes committed a game altering error on a ball that was sure to be an inning ending double play.  Of course on the next pitch Rockies right fielder Seth Smith hit a three run homer and the Mets would not rebound.  After scoring a run in the third, no Mets player advanced beyond second base there after. 

The defense didn’t help Maine out much as both Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes committed their sixth errors of the season.  Reyes had a tough day on Sunday.  Not only did he commit a costly error in the field in the fourth inning; an inning earlier Reyes was picked off first base which marked the second time he had been picked off in the series.  It wasn’t just Reyes who had a rough day; David Wright had another 0-fer as did Luis Castillo and Delgado.  Rookie Nick Evans came back to earth as he was 0-2 before being pulled for a pitch hitter.   

This game is just another in a long line of games in which the Mets have played dreadful baseball.  Something has to change.  I don’t know if it is Willie or if it is a division in the club house, or if it is the fact that they just aren’t that good.   The Mets are in trouble. They are unable to put together more than one win at a time; they don’t seem to hit with runners on scoring position, if they can even get anyone on base.      

It seems that Willie will have a better idea of where he stands when he gets to Shea Stadium today.  Randolph is scheduled to meet with Mets ownership, and one can only imagine what will be said in this meeting.  I think there is no question that Willie is in trouble.  Randolph doesn’t actually have the backing of his players, I think the way the have played basically states that.  However, when asked by the New York Post about Randolph’s meeting with ownership, Wright responded, “That’s why there’s a separation of Powers, the players play the front office makes personnel decisions the coaches coach.  The front office can make those decisions.”  Not exactly a ringing endorsement.  However, there are plenty of guys who have backed Randolph, Brian Schneider said, “It’s not him - it’s us, we’re not getting it done right now. Willie’s still doing the same stuff he’s been doing, which is staying positive. He’s always there, and he’s our biggest supporter out there.” 

It is hard to argue that some of what is wrong with the Mets doesn’t fall on Willie’s shoulders.  If the Mets decided to fire him, can you blame them?  Ownership has a lot at stake as they have sunk a ton of money into the payroll and they need to have a good season before they move into Citifield if they hope to have people fill the seats in their new ball park.  And, this has nothing to do with his ranting about SNY and racism, if the Mets were in first place and 2o games over .500 then it would be a non issue; Willie Randolph could say what he wanted-I mean look what Ozzie Guillen gets by with simply because he won a world series.  The Mets are in trouble, and looks as if Willie is too.   

The Mets return home and start a three game series with the Florida Marlins.  Mets starter Mike Pelfrey will take the mound for the Mets and the Marlins will counter with Ricky Nolasco.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. 

Mets Blog  

The New York Mets dropped their third straight game to the Atlanta Braves losing 11-4; their record now is now at .500 for the first time since April.  The Mets have been unable to score any runs against the Braves; in the past three  games they have been outscored 23-8.  The offense is abysmal, and it apparently doesn’t seem to be bothering anyone much, especially considering that Jose Reyes was all smiles and kidding around on the field last night when his team was getting trounced by the Braves. 

Mike Pelfrey was terrible, however one can only imagine if things might have been different if Luis Castillo actually hustles and makes the play on the ground ball by Mark Teixeira; making that play would have ended the third inning with out any further damage.  But instead, Luis didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry, even though Teixeira was busting it out of the box.  Pelfrey who could be seen pumping his fist because he thought he’d gotten the third out, now had to face three more batters before recording the last out of the inning.  But, the damage was done, the Mets would be down 3-1 and wouldn’t recover. 

It wasn’t just Pelfrey who struggled on the mound, the Met’s relief pitchers had trouble also.  Pedro Feliciano pitched two innings and gave up two runs, Joe Smith pitched 1/3 of an inning and gave up two runs, Scott Schoeneweis pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up a run.  Clearly, no one is able to do to anything right.  When there is good pitching, there is no hitting.  If the Mets score some runs the pitching lets them down, or as was the case last night, they got terrible pitching and no offense.  Nothing is clicking on all cylinders, and I think the Mets lack of offensive production has lead to a lot of pressure on the pitching staff.  Also, when you aren’t winning, there can’t be too much happiness in the clubhouse.  However, that is one of those things that is a catch 22,  you wonder if they aren’t winning because of a lack of chemistry, but team chemistry is what you need to start winning. 

On a day when manager Willie Randolph made a public apology to his team, the Mets fans, SNY, and Mets ownership, you would think that his guys would want to come out and show him that they got his back, apparently not.   However, that has pretty much been the story, no?  Remember when Billy Wagner came out and made comments about Oliver Perez after his horrible start against the Pirates?  Well, Randolph said, I’ve talked to Billy and he understands that I am not happy about this and that we should keep things in house.  Well, obviously Billy doesn’t  really care much about what Willie thinks because just right before the Yankee series he again didn’t keep things in house and made comments that could really only be directed at the Carloses.  Clearly things within the club house are fractured.  And, in many respects, I think that someone had to say something.  I am not necessarily saying that I thought Billy Wagner is wrong, I’m just saying he didn’t actually do what his manager asked of him either.   

Who knows what the problem is?  Baseball people all the time say things like this team lacks leadership.  Is that the case with the Mets?  After the last three losses David Wright who is considered the face of the franchise has finally had some harsh remarks that sounded like he is at least frustrated by the way the Mets have played.  Is this considered leadership?  Can he lead when he is a youngster on the team?  However, if the egos of these guys are as fragile as they seem, can comments from your leaders cause a bigger divide?

Where do the fans fit in to all of this?  There is still so much discussion about the fans booing, about the fans not giving these guys a shot.  They are a .500 team and have been for a whole year now.  Sorry to keep hammering that point home, but it should be noted that the team in the National League with the highest payroll is underachieving, and yes being at .500 is beyond underachieving.  The fans don’t take this lightly, especially because we share this town with Yankee fans, and there is this need to be better than the Yankees.  In fact, I can’t even enjoy the awful season the Yankees are having right now, because the Mets are playing terrible too.  These problems with the fans and this team aren’t just about this season, this dates back to the heartbreak of last year’s collapse.  The Mets as a team might have moved on from that, although the way they are playing now might suggest otherwise, but certainly the fans have not.  If you are going to be the highest paid team in the National League, you are also supposed to be the winningest team in the National League. 

 The Mets  wrap up the series tonight in Atlanta before heading to Denver to face the Rockies for three games.  Johan Santana will start for the Mets and the Braves will counter with Tim Hudson.  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

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. 

Mets Blog   

The New York Mets completed a rain shortened series with the New York Yankees on Sunday night with an 11-2 win.  However, one can only guess what the score might have been if not for an awful call by the umpires in the fourth inning.  The Mets had scored three runs off of Yankee starter Chien-Ming Wang when Carlos Delgado came to the plate.  Delgado hit a shot to left field that struck the foul pole and bounced into the crowd, third base umpire Mike Reilly called it a homerun; however first base umpire Alfonso Marquez said it was a foul ball, and after the umpires gathered to discuss it, the call was reversed by home plate umpire Bob Davidson.  Replays on the telecast showed that the ball was clearly a homerun, and when television cameras caught up with the guy who was sitting next to the foul pole and had possession of the “foul” ball, there was a black scuff mark on the ball and a white scuff mark on the foul pole.  Lucky for those umpires that Delgado went on to hit a RBI single and that those two runs did not cost them a victory.

I was concerned that that call not going the Mets way was going to be a problem.  I thought for sure the Mets would end up losing the game 6-5 and that call would really make or break the game.  But, the Mets went back to work and really did what they had to do to win the game.  Seven of the nine Mets starters all had a hit, David Wright and Jose Reyes each had two hits, Reyes hit a homerun, his second of the series and fourth of the season.  However, the best thing that came out of that blown call debacle was that Willie Randolph actually got fired up.  He went out to argue the call with the umpires, when play resumed, Randolph must have continued jawing from the dugout because ESPN’s microphones picked up the shouts of home plate umpire Bob Davidson yelling “Shut up Willie!”  Although Davidson did not eject Randolph, bench coach Jerry Manuel who really got into with the umpires, was thrown out of the game.

Oliver Perez did a great job on Sunday night.  It looked like he might get into trouble in the bottom of the fourth when after the excitement in the top half of the inning, Perez gave up a lead off single to Derek Jeter and then a two run shot to Hideki Matsui to make it 4-2.  It looked like Perez might lose it in that fourth inning, but he composed himself and went 7 2/3, walked only two, gave up two earned runs on three hits, and struck out five.  Other than that one inning, Perez pitched really well.  He gave the Mets exactly what they needed, going deep in the game and preserving the win.   He is really going to be a big key to the Mets success down the road if they are going to go anywhere this year, and it was good to see him get it together instead of going into complete meltdown mode.

This was a great weekend to be a Mets fan.  The Mets finally played the way you expect them to, as a team they were great.  Ryan Church continues to make a name for himself.  His defense is really good, and he also has put up great offensive numbers, hitting his ninth homerun of the season last night; Church is now hitting .307 with 9 homeruns, 32 RBI.  I just hope that the Mets can capitalize on this momentum and play tough; they are now in second place, just one game out of first and tied in the loss column with the Marlins.  This upcoming road trip could be a big challenge; they’ve got four games in Atlanta and three in Denver against the Rockies.  After the trip, the Marlins come to town for three and then the Mets close out May with three against the Dodgers.  The Mets could really make some headway here in these next 13 games.  It would be great for them to open the up division a bit and put some distance between them and .500.   

The Mets have an off day on Sunday, and open a series with a double header against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.  First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.  The Mets will finally face Tom Glavine who will pitch the first game of the double header; he will be opposed by John Maine.  Claudio Vargas coming off a great start against the Washington Nationals, will start the 7:10 p.m. nightcap for the Mets.

Mets Blog