Baseball Digest: Omir Santos Catching On With Mets

Head over to Baseball Digest to check out
an article I penned about Omir Santos.

Twitter Poll: One word about yesterday’s loss

Yesterday, after the Mets let another lead slip away and turn into a loss, I asked my Twitter followers to sum up the Mets game in only one word.  It got quite a varied group of answers, to say the least.

Here are their responses…

mets_geekette said: Demoralizing.

dances_w_vowels said: Heilman

andy79 said: typical

darknova306 said: Typical.

thebrowncoat said: Typical.

Mike_Peters said: "Typical"

metsfan said: typical.

tweetthemets said: typical.

letsgoduke said: fail

acesigma said: FAIL.

mostlymets said: Sad

artincircles said: Sad?

ttgirl24 said: RISP

fscker said: *ugh*

Citi_Field said: Pissed

pattigibbons said: train-wreck

cutiepie0319k said: aggravating

Retire31 said: Manure.

julierubes said: Speechless

jonnew said: Putz

JTKrycek said: PUTZ

jessicarubin said: Ew.

metschick said: frustrating

lvadgal said: meltdown

Brooklynmutt said: reminiscent

maggie162 said: Woe.

Vodka_RB said: 2008.

wendy93639 said: Really?

From those that ignored the rules / have potty mouths…

doug_whitehorn said: S**t-f**k...that counts as one right...cuz of the hyphen?

gmo418 said: Sh**ty

SITTINGINTHEBAC said: "A HOT MESS"

Section518 said: OhmygoshIcantbelivetheystrandedsomanyrunnersagain?

From the peanut gallery…

ChuckKnoblog said: Brutal

kierankelly said: Putzing. See what I did there?

lennysyankees said: "sucky"

ProctorsArm said: Aberration

I am absolutely amazed at how many “typical” answers I received, six in all.  I guess the last two years have really stuck with Mets fans.

Tweet of the Day: Brooklynmutt said: reminiscent

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ on what the one word is that explains yesterday’s loss.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Nick Adenhart still available in Yahoo! and CBS fantasy leagues

By now, we all know the sad story of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart.  He lost his life along with two other men on April 9 when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident.

Obviously, this was a sad loss for Adenhart’s family and all of Major League Baseball. 

Three weeks after the accident, Adenhart is still available as a pitcher in both Yahoo! and CBS Sports fantasy leagues.  According to Ryan over at Retire31.com, he was not available in an ESPN league.

It’s time for Yahoo! and CBS to do the right thing and remove his name from the roster of players.  He should be remembered, but not in this way.

Game Recap: Marlins 4 – Mets 3

Another one-run victory by the Marlins in a game between Johan Santana and Josh Johnson.

The Florida Marlins (13-8) beat the New York Mets (9-12) by a score of 4-3.

The Mini Recap

Santana let up two runs in the first inning, including a solo home run to Jorge Cantu.  He shut out the Marlins over the next six.  J.J. Putz walked the first two batters in the 8th inning and both came around to score.

The Mets got runs out of the bottom of the order, with Alex Cora, Ramon Castro and Fernando Tatis driving in all the Mets runs.  Tatis’ RBI came on a solo home run in the sixth inning.

The Mets loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning, but couldn’t score.

For the full recap, please read Mets Waste
Santana Start on Baseball Digest.

Lineup for today’s matinee

Omir Santos takes the day off, with Ramon Castro getting the start with Johan Santana on the mound.  (Does this make Santos the starter while Brian Schneider is out?)  Daniel Murphy will be batting third.

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Alex Cora – 2B
3. Daniel Murphy – LF
4. Carlos Beltran – CF
5. David Wright – 3B
6. Ryan Church – RF
7. Fernando Tatis – 1B
8. Ramon Castro – C
9. Johan Santana – LHP

Feel free to use the comments to discuss the game.

Twitter Poll: After 20 games, what is the Mets biggest problem?

Last night was game number twenty for the New York Mets in 2009.  They had an early lead, but let it slip away.  The bats went quiet and couldn’t come back to make an interesting game out of it.  With the loss, the Mets fell to 9-11.

Last night (and this morning) I asked my Twitter followers what is the biggest problem facing the Mets so far.  Here are their responses…

crotch_jenkins said: Starting pitching.

Jbones72 said: Still the same problems since game 7 2006, and we all know what they are!

gmo418 said: Scoring runs. With the lineup the Mets have they should be scoring more to take pressure off pitching.

nynjpaweather said: Consistency. However, that can be resolved if the Mets starting winning series starting today.

darknova306 said: Biggest prob right now is lack of quality starts. Pelf and Maine look better, let's see what they got next time around.

kerelcoop said: inconsistent starting pitching.

tweetthemets said: Duh. The inability to score late in games. See also: 2nd half 2007, 1st half 2008. Can't deal with another season of this.

jessicarubin said: Still... leaving RISP stranded.

maggie162 said: Situational hitting. They're getting enough hits, but they're all spread out so they can never really rally

fullnelson said: starting pitching, easy but need a CounterAttack Offense when opponents scores runs on da Mets.

andy79 said: it's a tie between Oliver Perez, defense and situational hitting.

mostlymets said: Starting pitching. If the starting pitching was better then Murphy's growing pains in LF would be tolerable.

cutiepie0319k said: not being able to come back after giving up the lead late in a game.

pattigibbons said: consistency - SP, hitting/RBIs, holding leads and not letting games slip away late.

acesigma said: Tossup between @jessicarubin and @kerelcoop A billion LOB plus pitching as unpredictable as a New England spring.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ on what the is the Mets biggest problem after 20 games.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Game Recap: Marlins 7 – Mets 4

Another lead that slipped away.

The Florida Marlins (12-8) snapped their seven-game losing streak, beating the New York Mets (9-11) by score of 7-4.

The Mini Recap

Livan Hernandez nearly turned in a quality start, allowing three runs over 5 1-3 innings.  The Mets bullpen, actually just Sean Green, led the lead slip away.

The Mets bats, as usual, scored in the first inning, and couldn’t muster much after that.  Gary Sheffield had a two-run triple in the first inning. Alex Cora and David Wright added RBIs in the second and fifth respectively.

For the full recap, please read Mets Watch Lead
Slip Away In Loss on Baseball Digest.

Live Blog / Chat: Florida Marlins @ New York Mets

Join in for another live blog to talk Mets, baseball or anything that we feel like chatting about.  The chat will start at 7 p.m.

Poll: Have you been to Citi Field?

In my latest poll question, I asked my readers if you’ve been to Citi Field.  Here are the results…

1. Yes – 40%
2. No, but planning on it – 33%
3. No, but I have tickets – 15%
4. No, and won’t be going – 10%

I have been to Citi Field, but not for a Mets game.  I don’t have tickets yet, but I’m sure I’ll get out there this summer when I don’t have to worry about school or summer courses.

Link: Q&A with Josh Thole

Will Sommer from MetsFansForever.com recently sat down with Josh Thole, one of the Mets top catching prospects.  Thole is currently playing for the Double-A Binghamton Mets.

Will Sommer
Now  last season, you were basically a full-time first baseman.  Has the transition from first base to catcher been difficult for you?

Josh Thole
No it hasn’t been that difficult at all.  It definitely takes a lot more time and a lot more work and a lot more preparation but I feel like I’m picking all that up pretty easily and I’m having no issue with that.
---
Will Sommer
Growing up did you ever envision that you would be where you are right now?

Josh Thole
I mean it’s definitely a dream when you’re a little kid but you just never know where that dream’s going to take you, so I never knew what to expect. But this is something I always wanted to do since I’ve been really little.

To read the rest of the Q&A, head over to MetsFansForever.com.

Mets release Freddy Garcia

After two miserable starts for Triple-A Buffalo, the Mets have parted ways with Freddy Garcia.  He was 0-2 with a 8.18 ERA.

Garcia signed with the Mets this off-season after auditioning for a handful of teams as he attempts to recover from surgery.  His contract was said to be worth up to $8 million if all his incentives were met.

Garcia, though, does not plan to retire, according to his agent.  But he’s mulling it.

The Mets are slim at pitching options and with the recent struggles of the starting rotation, it may be time to worry.  They have a handful of younger guys who just aren’t ready for the big show, but not much else.

It may be time to call up Pedro Martinez just to see how he’s doing.

Twitter Poll: What to do with Omir Santos?

In the first inning of last night’s game, Omir Santos hit a grand slam in his third straight start.

Brian Schneider will likely return to the Mets soon, coming off the DL after experiencing pain in his back.  But what will happen to Santos?

Last night, I asked my Twitter followers what should the Mets do with Omir Santos?

Here are their answers…

• gmo418 said: Play the hot hand. Leave in Omir.
• Section518 said: Trade one, preferably Castro. Santos to Buffalo for the short term, but bring him right back as soon as a trade is made.
• jessicarubin said: Tough. I like Castro but maybe try and shop him in exchange for a SP?
• DonCheech said: Trade Castro or DFA him. Omir needs to stay
• metschick said: "Schneider, you suck. Get outta here!"
• blackshadows14 said: Manuel plays guys who are playing well, so I believe that Santos is here to stay, as he should be.
• cvelardi said: What should the Mets do w/ Castro might be the more important question!
• cselland said: Brian Who?
• d_kris said: If we could carry 3 catchers for a bit it would be nice. But with the state of pitching I don't think that'll happen.
• samtpage said: Demote him. His success won't last, even though Schneider's not THAT much better. I bet Manuel lobbies for OS to stay.
• Jbones72 said: maybe they will get lucky Schneider won't come back!
• JTKrycek said: so far he's been better than castro or schneider; at the very least make him the new backup, or platoon him w/schneider
• fullnelson said: I think da Mets will send O. Santos down 2 Triple-A Buffalo (or DFA), unless something happens in Left Field (Sorry 4 da Pun)
• fscker said: that's a REALLY good question. I know what WILL happen, santos will get sent down.
• metgirl4ever said: ...Schneider who...?
• kerelcoop said: I'd like to see them keep Santos up and trade Schnieder. The last thing I want to see is them carry three catchers.
• darknova306 said: Mets should shop Schneider. Maybe a KazMat deal, where 'we pay you to take our garbage'. :) Santos is what this team needs.

And from the peanut gallery / jokesters…

• kevin_tor said: Tie him to Daniel Murphy for stability.
• jschil said: trade him to the yanks and convert him to a pitcher
• Retire31 said: I can't top what the other guy said about tying Omir to Murphy for stability.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ on what the Mets should do next with Omir Santos.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Game Recap: Mets 7 – Marlins 1

Make that seven losses in a row for the Florida Marlins.

The New York Mets (9-10) beat the Florida Marlins (11-8) by a score of 7-1.

The Mini Recap

John Maine was about as good as the Mets could hope for tonight.  Though he walked three over six innings, he only allowed one hit.  The lone single came in the first inning off the bat of Jorge Cantu, and plated Emilio Bonifacio for an unearned run.  Sean Green, J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez finished out the final three innings for the win.

The Mets bats got off to a hot start, as they scored six runs in the first inning.  Four of those runs came when Omir Santos hit a two-out grand slam over the left field wall, the first home run of his career.  Gary Sheffield and David Wright had earlier picked up RBI singles and a Ryan Church sac-fly in the 8th brought in the Mets final run.

An all-around good game from the Mets.  Great to see.

For the full recap, please read Maine, Santos Lead
Mets To Victory on Baseball Digest.

Odd lineup for first against Fish

John Maine will have quite an interesting lineup behind him when he takes the mound at Citi Field tonight.  No Daniel Murphy, no Ramon Castro and no Carlos Delgado.

Delgado was going to take Wednesday off, but apparently tweaked his hip, and will sit tonight.  Tatis was originally slated to play second base, but Luis Castillo will take the field as Tatis moves to first.  Sheffield, and his .136 AVG, will hit in the cleanup spot.

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Luis Castillo – 2B
3. Carlos Beltran – CF
4. Gary Sheffield – LF
5. David Wright – 3B
6. Ryan Church – RF
7. Fernando Tatis – 1B
8. Omir Santos – C
9. John Maine – RHP

Interesting to see Santos with another start.  Could the Mets be considering shipping Ramon Castro (and others) elsewhere to see if they can land some starting pitching?  Santos has proven, so far, that he can play up here and the Mets must like what they see.

Also, according to Steve Popper, Wright is now sporting a freshly shaved head and took a few swings of early batting practice left handed.

The 2009 Mets need a little bit of this ‘heart’

You've gotta have heart
All you really need is heart
When the odds are sayin' you'll never win
That's when the grin should start
When your luck is battin' zero
Get your chin up off the floor
Mister you can be a hero
You can open any door, there's nothin' to it but to do it
You've gotta have heart
Miles 'n miles n' miles of heart

The 1969 Mets could teach the 2009 Mets a little something about how to play baseball, don’t you think?

Via Jorge Says No!

If you’re a masochist… [Part II]

Another Daniel Murphy flop, another GIF image from Phillies fans.

From BackSheGoes.com, via The Good Phight: Again, no comment.

To check out Part I, look here.

Twitter Poll: What to do with Oliver Perez?

After another miserable start by Oliver Perez, the Mets and their fans are all wondering what the next best move is for the $36 million man.

Last night, I asked my Twitter followers: What should the Mets do with Perez?

Here are their responses…

• kerelcoop said: admit you made a mistake, eat most of the contract and trade him.
• fscker said: you can't do much with him. Huge contract you can't unload, 2009's delgado... keep playing him and hope he comes around.
• LyleLanley said: Trade, demote, or put him in middle relief
• SITTINGINTHEBAC said: send him down
• gmo418 said: Let him work it out, if mets drop him or put him in bullpen this guy is so soft mentally he will never recover
• zim1021 said: Send him to the minors and see if he could be consistent there. If not, try and trade him.
• mets_geekette said: Make him throw right-handed a few times.. maybe he made a mistake and he's really a RHP. Surely he couldn't be worse?
• Retire31 said: Put him in a Brooklyn Cyclones commercial.
• blackshadows14 said: If Redding, Garcia, or Figueroa can't fill the void, then try to trade him for another SP
• trekmetfan said: I'm affraid the end is near for Perez.
• JTKrycek said: replace him w/ANY consistent "quality start"-er & turn him into Citi Field's 36 million dollar hot dog vendor.
• jessicarubin said: send him down to regroup. If he can't, try and trade him for another SP.
• metgirl4ever said: send him 2 a shrink so he can get his mind right...Ollie & Maine r crappy right now...can u justify keeping 1 & trading other
• thebrowncoat said: Let him pitch all innings except the 5th. Also, don't give him a $36 million deal...oh crap......
• d_kris said: Give him to the Cyclones & let him work his way back up thru the ranks! Good Ollie= move up, Mr Perez's Wild Ride= stay down!
• darknova306 said: I've had enough of Ollie on this team. AAA or trade him, but I don't want to see him in Citi anymore.
• willrmc said: Ask Atlanta if they want to trade him for Lowe. Sounds fair??

And from the peanut gallery / crude humorists…

• ChuckKnoblog said: I say we stomp him! Then we tattoo him! Then we hang him...! And then we kill him!- Pee Wee's Big Adventure
• metschick said: inject him with swine flu.

I can’t see any team wanting to take Perez and his $36 million contract right now or in the very near future.  The Mets would have to eat the majority of his contract to even get the teams to the bargaining table.

The best bet is to skip his start and send him to the bullpen.  Let him take a few days off, away from the team, to clear his head and see if he can come back ready and willing to listen to Dan Warthen and the coaching staff.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ on what the Mets should do next with Oliver Perez.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Casey Fossum DFA’d, Takahashi called up

After the finale between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals, they designated pitcher Casey Fossum for assignment.

Fossum had just pitched 2 2-3 innings against the Nationals in relief of Oliver Perez.  Fossum walked three, struck out two and allowed one run to score.

To take his place on the roster, the Mets called up Ken Takahashi from Triple-A Buffalo. 

The Mets signed Takahashi on March 30 after he was released by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Here’s a Q&A with Patrick Newman from NPB Tracker that I did days after the Mets signed the 40 year old pitcher:

Is Takahashi a LOOGY (Lefty One Out Guy)?

No, he was a starter last year and didn’t perform that well against lefties — .333 ba against in 126 batters faced.

Average pitch speed?

Probably high 80’s on the fastball, but I haven’t seen him this year. I believe he can reach about 91 on his fastball.

Can he perform at the major league level? / Worth it or just minor league fodder?

The odds are against him, being 40 and not having an obviously dominating pitch, but he thinks his changeup is as good as [Hideki] Okajima’s. Definitely a low-risk pickup. You can’t have too many arms, and if he proves he can get lefties out in AAA the Mets may have something.

For more on Takahashi, check out a full post about him on NPB Tracker.

Game Recap: Nationals 8 – Mets 1

Another Oliver Perez start, another Oliver Perez meltdown.

The Nationals (4-13) beat the Mets (8-10) and avoided the sweep by a score of 8-1.

The Mini Recap

Perez struggled the whole game.  He  did not register a 1-2-3 inning, allowed nine hits and three walks and most importantly, seven earned runs.  Casey Fossum was asked to contribute some mop-up duty, letting in some inherited runners and one of his own in 2 2-3 innings on the mound.  Pedro Feliciano and Brian Stokes each turned in solid innings.

The Mets bats were quieted by 22 year old rookie Jordan Zimmerman.  The only run came in the first inning on a Carlos Delgado triple.  After Zimmerman’s day was done, three Nats relievers combined to no-hit the Mets.

Just a miserable game on both side of the ball as the Mets could have earned a series sweep of the lowly Nats, but instead lost in a blowout.

For the full recap, go read my article: Perez Pitiful Again.

It’s Oliver Perez day

Break out the Tums and the Rolaids.

Oliver Perez will face the Washington Nationals at 1:10 p.m. as the Mets look to sweep the series.

Perez is 1-1 in 2009 with a 7.80 ERA. 

In his first start, Perez failed to get out of the fifth inning, letting up eight earned runs.  When he faced the San Diego Padres at home on April 15, he threw six innings and allowed only one run.  In his last start, against the Cardinals, he again failed to complete the fifth inning.  He allowed four earned runs and walked five.

In his career against Washington, he is 3-3 with a 6.53 ERA.

How do you think Perez will pitch today?

Game Recap: Mets 8 – Nationals 2

A comedy of errors by the Nationals and a nice start out of Mike Pelfrey.  What a Saturday.

The Mets (8-9) beat the Nationals (3-13) by a score of 8-2.

The Mini Recap

Pelfrey, coming off a skipped start, pitched effectively and surprisingly well.  Almost six innings out of Pelfrey must be encouraging for the Mets.  The bullpen turned in 3 1-3 solid innings.

Thanks to three errors and a handful of other bad choices by the Nationals, the Mets scored eight runs, only four of which were earned.  Ryan Church drove in three runs while Carlos Beltran picked up three hits.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

More on the Figueroa signing

Nelson Figueroa will be in Buffalo today and will likely start for the Bisons on Tuesday.

According to my source, Figueroa did have other offers but decided to return to the Mets.  The team told him “they would like him back.”

Figueroa will be up soon, I think.  Casey Fossum has been all right, but I think someone is going to be demoted to work on mechanics soon.  Be it Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez or John Maine is yet to be seen.

Figueroa is the versatile arm the Mets need.  The bullpen is going to be overworked at this rate and they need a good arm to pitch two or three innings when needed.  When the starting pitcher can only last four decent innings, having Figueroa in the bullpen is necessity.

Mets sign Lamb

As the Buffalo Bisons get off to a 2-12 start, the Mets have added veteran Mike Lamb to the Triple-A roster.

Lamb, a nine year veteran of MLB with four years in the Houston and Texas organizations. last played with Minnesota and Milwaukee in 2008.  He’s a career .277 hitter.

His best year came with Houston in 2006 when he hit .307/.361/.475 while driving in 45 runs and hitting 12 home runs.

A good, veteran signing for the minor leagues.

Source: Figueroa returns to the Mets

Nelson Figueroa, who recently declared free agency after being designated for assignment then clearing waivers, is coming back to the New York Mets.

A source who wishes to remain anonymous, the same source that had him fleeing for free agency, tipped me off this morning.  Figueroa was clearly angered at the team after they DFA’d him after his quality start last weekend.

It is unknown at this time what the contract and numbers may be.  Figueroa will report to Triple-A Buffalo.

This is a good move for both sides.  It brings the Brooklyn native back as possible starting option for the Mets, especially as Jerry Manuel uses scare tactics to try and motivate his pitchers.

The Mets made right with this move, even though it took a little too long for them to figure it all out.

Game Recap: Mets 4 – Nationals 3

A nail-biter from start to finish as the Mets fail to come through in the clutch but still eek out win over Nats.

The Mets (7-9) beat the Nationals (3-12) by a score of 4-3.

The Mini Recap

Johan Santana did his thing, striking out out seven of the first nine Nationals to face him.  He allowed one run on six hits.  He walked one and ended up striking out 10 in his six innings.  Francisco Rodriguez had to make it interesting by allowed a two-run home run in the 9th inning, but was able to close it out.

The Mets scored runs on a misplayed ball by Elijah Dukes, Luis Castillo RBI single, Austin Kearns error and a walk with the bases loaded.  The team left 13 runners on base.  Carlos Beltran knocked in his 1,000th career RBI.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

Live Blog/Chat: WSH @ NYM – Join in!

Another rousing round of live blogging on The ‘Ropolitans.  Join in to talk Nats, Mets and anything else we care to dish about.

The State of the Mets [Video – 4/24/09]

Here is another edition of my weekly web show, The State of the Mets.

Topics covered: Miserable pitching, untimely hitting and the outlook from here on out.

(It’s working.  Just hit play.)

Scare tactics by Jerry Manuel

A headline in the NY Daily News today reads: Slumping Mets eye major shakeup: Coaches on firing line; Pelfrey, Perez or Maine may get demoted.

The Mets are off to a 6-9 start.  Their starting pitching, outside of Johan Santana, has been nothing short of miserable.  The offense apparently decides what days it feels like showing up to the ballpark.

That leads Jerry Manuel and the Mets to shift gears from positive motivation to scare tactics.

A team insider later elaborated that no one, aside from Johan Santana, has immunity. Translation: Perez or Pelfrey, who can be optioned to the minors without passing through waivers, could be ticketed for the minors, while Livan Hernandez's standing as fifth starter could be on shaky ground.
---
While nothing is imminent, dialogue about coaching changes already has begun, a source told The News.
---
The more interesting question would be whether to pull the plug on Gary Sheffield, who went 0-for-5 Thursday as part of Manuel's rejiggered lineup, dropping his average to .111.

Manuel has been the king of saying one thing and doing another during his tenure here in New York.  Right now, this just seems like the next form of motivation before they actually start to do something about it (i.e. roster moves and coaching positions).

I’m not glad it has come to this, but I’m glad this is what they’re doing.  Nothing scares a player more than getting demoted and/or cut.

Let Manuel talk this talk and walk this walk for a while.  If it doesn’t work out though, he might be the man out of a job.

Twitter Poll: If you had one roster move to make on the New York Mets…

The Mets have lost four games in a row.  They’re 6-9 on the season and can’t seem to get in sync.

Last night I asked my Twitter followers if Omar Minaya granted them one roster move on the current Mets team, what would it be?  I got some very different answers.  There is one that want to look into cloning Johan Santana, another who is offering their services and a few who would like to swap out the entire team.

Here are their responses…

• benmyerson said: does "swap rosters with Buffalo" count as one move?
• letsgoduke said: trade castillo for ruben gotay.
• samtpage said: Fire Omar Minaya. Does that count? If not, release Sheffield.
• Retire31 said: Clone Johan Santana four times.
• ByronBrewer said: Honestly... I don't even know where to begin. Is a team-swap considered 'one move?' :)
• Section518 said: It's a tough one, because one move isn't going to get it done. Another starter? Maybe Cliff Lee? Not really sure...
• ambilevous said: sign manny
• BigLeagueWIFFLE said: Hire Tommy Lasorda to coach
• dmoneymania said: Sign me up. I'm a co-ed softball league superstar. I pick it like Olerud, stroke it like Alfonzo. I'm pure stud.
• soxanddawgs said: sign pedro
• cselland said: Sign Manny - we need a left fielder. Oh, wait...
• Section518 said: Sign Manny - we need a left fielder.
• acesigma said: Fire Omar. Oh wait that's not a roster move.
• metgirl4ever said: nothing until May...knee jerk moves/reactions usually make u worse, not better...
• gmo418 said Pick up Pedro off junk pile, place John Maine and Dan Murphy/Ryan Church on trade block for young front line starter
• JTKrycek said: sign jake peavy
• fullnelson said: Gary "Iron" Sheffield, not Pinch Hitter, need many At Bats. what is da use of F. Tatis?
• thebrowncoat said: If I trade the whole team at once, does that count as one roster move?

Quite and interesting array of answers if I do say so myself.  It seems as though many Mets fans have turned to humor to try and forget about their team’s on field performance.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about the one roster move you would want to make.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Maybe He can help the Mets

This image was sent to me by John Helferich.  He says he found it a few days ago in New York City.

The Mets need all the help they can get at this point.

Game Recap: Cardinals 12 – Mets 8

On a day the bats decided to show up to the park, the pitching just wasn’t there.

The Cardinals (11-5) beat the Mets (6-9) by a score of 12-8.

The Mini Recap

The teams pounded out 31 hits between them.  Livan Hernandez only lasted 4 1-3 innings, allowing seven earned runs while on the mound.  Sean Green didn’t fare much better, allowing five earned runs in two innings of work.

Carlos Beltran went 3-5 on the day with a double and a home run, driving in three runs.  Ryan Church also connected for a two-run home run.  Alex Cora and Fernando Tatis each picked up their first hits of the season.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

The worst home run call ever

Take a listen to this home run call by the St. Louis broadcasters.  This is after Ryan Church’s two-run home run in the seventh inning. 

Yes, the game was 11-3 at the time, but still…

Maybe it just wasn’t my cup of tea.  How do you feel?

SNY to CC games starting May 1

According to Neil Best, who has been spearheading the media push to get SNY to add closed captioning, just announced that the network will begin adding captioning to games on May 1.

From Best:

Effective May 1 (when the Mets visit the Phillies), SNY plans to offer closed captioning - for Mets games only.

It is a belated move three-plus seasons after the network launched, and it would have been nice to have all programming captioned.

But it is much better than nothing, and will serve as a bridge to March 16, 2010, when FCC rules will require the network to be all-captioned.

I know many people who will be very happy to read this news.

Lineup shakedown

The Mets have been struggling to score runs, plating eight over the last three games combined.  So today, as promised, Jerry Manuel has decided to shake up the lineup.  He has replaced three of the starting eight (thought it’s a day game after a night game, so Luis Castillo and Ramon Castro likely wouldn’t have started anyway) and switched Carlos Beltran and David Wright in the lineup.

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Alex Cora – 2B
3. Carlos Beltran – CF
4. Carlos Delgado – 1B
5. David Wright – 3B
6. Gary Sheffield – LF
7. Ryan Church – RF
8. Omir Santos – C
9. Livan Hernandez – RHP

Who knows if this will help or work at all, but it’s worth a shot.  It can’t get much worse, right?

Baseball Digest: A ring comes to Citi

Please head over to Baseball Digest to read a story I wrote about a couple getting engaged with the help of a FanWalk brick at Citi Field.

Click here to read the story.

Twitter Poll: What’s worse: Mets bats or Mets arms?

After another night of sloppy pitching and lack of hitting, I asked my Twitter followers what was worse about the Mets: the bats or the arms?

Here are their responses…

• wendy93639 said: pitching
• letsgoduke said: bats
• pjdempsey said: bats with RISP. Pitching hasn't been horrible as far as runs allowed goes.
• Section518 said: Bats. Pitchers (outside of Johan) have been bad or shaky, but this offense can pick them up. But they haven't. Yet.
• PaulsRandomStuf said: The Mets starting pitching, other than Santana, is a disaster. The hitters will eventually get it together (I hope).
• acesigma said: A billion left on base so far? Batting. No question.
• Retire31 said: how about timely hitting AND timely pitching.
• MetsNY81 said: You can make a strong argument for both.. but i'll go with bats.
• lvadgal said: gotta go with the bats as if they were hitting runs would score and that helps the pitchers.
• darknova306 said: Pitching. We know the bats will come around, but Maine looks toasted, Ollie is worse than ever and who knows about Pelf's arm
• gmo418 said: Hitting, 100+ men left on base . Cant drive in runs. Its sad. Hopefully Mets can get healthy on the Nats this weekend.
• jessicarubin said: Bats.. The pitching has been inconsistent but it could be much worse (*cough*chien-ming wang*cough*) - a few hits would = win
• samtpage said: They're both good. I'm serious.

Interesting array of answers.  Bats came out as the “winner” but pitching had a strong contingent behind it.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about which problem facing the Mets is worse.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Game Recap: Cardinals 5 – Mets 2

What’s left to say?

The Cardinals (10-5) beat the Mets (6-8) by a score of 5-2.

The Mini Recap

John Maine struggled throughout the game, letting up seven hits and five earned runs in five 2-3 innings of work.  The bullpen kept the Cardinal quiet, but the Mets bats just weren’t there.

The team picked up on in the third on a Daniel Murphy RBI single and tacked on another in the ninth on a Carlos Beltran RBI double.

If you watched this game, you just knew the Mets weren’t going to win.  They had a tie in the third, but from there the Cardinals just took over the game.  They made Joel Piniero look like Cy Young.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

Source: Figueroa flees for free agency

Nelson Figueroa has refused his assignment to Triple-A Buffalo and filed for free agency, according to a source who has asked to remain anonymous.

Figueroa was designated for assignment after his quality start on Sunday.  He cleared waivers and Figueroa has a day to decide to report to the Mets affiliate in Buffalo or file for free agency.

The source has said that Figueroa has chosen to opt for free agency over returning to the Mets organization.

And who can blame him?  The Mets did not treat him well after he turned in a good start for them.  They cut him loose and brought on Casey Fossum in a messy roster shuffle.

I wish the best to Figueroa and his family.  He was a great guy and did everything the Mets asked of him.

Lineup stays the same

After a messy game last night, I was shocked to see the lineup stay as is for tonight’s game.

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Daniel Murphy – LF
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Carlos Delgado – 1B
5. Carlos Beltran – CF
6. Ryan Church – RF
7. Ramon Castro – C
8. Luis Castillo – 2B
9. John Maine – RHP

No live blog tonight, but feel free to hit the comments to discuss the game.

If you’re a masochist…

You’ll want to watch this.  Over and over and over.  And over.

Via The Good Phight from Back She Goes…

No comment.

All-Star balloting now open: Vote LMillz!

Major League Baseball is three weeks into the season, and they’ve already set up online balloting for the All-Star Game set for St. Louis.

Major League Baseball today marked the official start of All-Star Balloting for the 80th All-Star Game, which will be held on Tuesday, July 14th, with a special on-field ceremony prior to the New York Mets-St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium, the host of the 2009 Midsummer Classic. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game Balloting program is the largest of its kind in professional sports.
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Every Major League Club will have begun its in-stadium balloting no later than Wednesday, May 6th. When the in-stadium phase of balloting concludes on Friday, June 26th, fans will have the opportunity to cast their final ballots exclusively online at MLB.com and the 30 Club Web sites until Thursday, July 2nd at 11:59 p.m. (EDT). In addition, Banco BHD will sponsor All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available offline and online at www.bhd.com.do from May 5th-June 22nd.

I just cast my ballot (you can cast 25, but I don’t know anyone who cares that much) and I found it fairly hard to choose based on 13 or 14 games, but that’s just me.

Oddly, or maybe not so oddly, you can still vote for Lastings Milledge to make the All-Star team.  I’m officially starting the “Vote LMillz” campaign to get Milledge into the All-Star Game.  I’d love to see what MLB will do if Milledge makes the team while he’s still in Triple-A.

Vote often and vote Milledge.

Guest Blog: Overpricing and charity

This guest post come from my good friend Jeremy Schilling, who maintains his own blog at jschil.wordpress.com.  Enjoy…

No, this is not another blog post about the overpricing of tickets or the lack of perfect attendance at early Yankee and Mets games this season. This post is about ideas.

NBC Nightly News has been doing a segment for about a month and a half now called “Making a Difference” – how average Americans are helping their neighbors in tough times. It’s by far the most popular segment Nightly News has run in a long time.

So let’s have these teams make a difference.

There are hundreds of charities out there which would love to go to a baseball game. Give the tickets to them.

Now I understand that yes, this comes with a financial loss. But you know what – hopefully they’ll pay it forward, and eventually, it’ll all come full circle. No one wants to see empty seats in a ballpark, no one. So why don’t we fill it up with worthy people – baseball’s next generation.

Does this next generation care about tax-exempt bonds, personal seat licenses or obstructed seats? I bet you not. Most just want a day out in the sun and fun, seeing America’s pastime, and a time away from all their troubles.

Change was the keyword for a good 5 or 6 months in this country in late 2008. So why don’t we CHANGE the lives of Americans by giving them prime seats, the expensive seats that no one wants, to worthy charities and letting deserving people see a baseball game.

That is the American way of doing things.

Thank you, Jeremy.  Check out his blog at jschil.wordpress.com.

Figueroa clears waivers; O’Day picked up by Texas

Nelson Figueroa has cleared waivers, according to Adam Rubin.

Figueroa will report to Triple-A Buffalo.

Good.  Justice is served.

Also, Darren O’Day has been picked off of waivers by the Texas Rangers, according to Ken Davidoff.

So long, Darren.  Maybe, if the Rangers drop him, the Mets can bring him back if the timing is right.  You never know.

The Mets can hit…sometimes

The Mets bats are fairing pretty well so far, even though you wouldn’t figure that out by listening to sports radio and reading some blogs. 

Check out these stats from Josh over at Jorge Says No!…

As of last night's game against the Cardinals, each position player on the Mets was hitting at least .300 with the exception of Ramon Castro (and Castro only has 20 at bats this season). Think about that: the Mets entire infield and outfield is hitting at least .300 right now. Crazy.
Proof:

1. Reyes - .339
2. Murphy - .320
3. Wright - .306
4. Delgado - .300
5. Beltran - .354
6. Church - .350
7. Castro - .150
8. Castillo - .400

I know it's only 13 games into the season, but this is still very, very impressive. And somewhat weird.

Too bad these aren’t the Mets numbers with runners in scoring position.

(Ed. note: I changed up the table a little.  It will appear differently on Josh’s site)

Photo of the day: Daniel Murphy and Yadier Molina

I think we caught them
during a tender moment.

Twitter Poll: Who is to blame?

Last night, a few follies in the field may have cost the Mets the game.  Couple that with some sleepy bats in the 7th, 8th and 9th and a meltdown by your starting pitcher and you have some fans pointing fingers.

Last night, mere minutes after the game, I asked my Twitter followers to pick one player to blame last night’s loss on.  Obviously, this isn’t the most classy post, but the fans were angry last night and they needed a place to vent.

Here are their responses…This was easily the most popular Twitter Poll…

• susi__ said: BELTRAN! 3 words..did not slide!
• Retire31 said: Beltran. You slide, you change the whole perspective of the game.
• lvadgal said: Beltran for NOT sliding
• tweetthemets said: Obviously Beltran & Murph look bad, but it comes down to Ollie again. Never met an early lead he couldn't blow.
• danfirrincili said: Didn't see the first seven innings. So I'd pin this one on Murphy. I want to like him, but he has no position in the field.
• metsfansforever said: beltran shines murphy ollie etc
• gmo418 said: Jerry Manuel for letting Oliver pitch to that one extra batter, then Fossum...the suck!
• acesigma said: Murphy. Even if Beltran scores Murphy still drops the ball. No way you can know if he'd be taken out.
• PerpetualMemory said: Perez b/c he is a fat [expletive deleted] who can't pitch more than 2 innings w/o getting distracted by something shiny in the crowd.
• SITTINGINTHEBAC said: the whole team they need to wake up asap
• Jbones72 said: murphy, let's get real he can't play left!
• zim1021 said: Gonna have to give it to Murphy. He's playing the field. He should know it's slippery. Should've fielded in a hop.
• Section518 said: Not Beltran. Bad play, but he's the best baserunner in the game. I'd put it on Murph. His misplays in LF got to Ollie.
• ambilevous said: face it dude, ollie needs his own personal shrink and 24 hr on call crisis team
• metgirl4ever said: upset about Beltran, but blame 'butterfingers Murphy' at this moment, I'm not opposed 2 hazing involving glue & a glove
• fullnelson said: Ollie P, couldnt get 2 hold runners & get da last out @ 5th in. 1 u cant get 6in & 3ER Gm over
• dave_doyle said: Blame it on Murphy. He stinks in left field.
• J_Alexandria said: Ollie, Murphy, the Blind UMPS, Beltran . in that order.
• fscker said: can i pick an ex-card? Fernando Tatis for not smacking jerry manual to get back into left field. Bring Back Fernando!!!!
• mets_geekette said: Murph. I know everyone keeps saying patience, patience, but you know what? Catch the fly ball.
• Thommy7893 said: Murphy. Because of his "Butterfinger play".
• cutiepie0319k said: i don't think you can blame it on one person.. between Murphy, Ollie, Beltran... a few players did oopies.

And from the peanut gallery / jokesters…

• ChuckKnoblog said: Beltran's no slide blunder cost the game; you have gotta slide! Murphy put the icing on the cake with his comical miss-step.
• maxypoo said: molina of course!

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about who might be to blame for last night’s loss.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Game Recap: Cardinals 6 – Mets 4

Another sloppy game costs the Mets.

The Mini Recap

Oliver Perez had four good innings and 2-3 of a bad inning.  Four earned runs, one with Casey Fossum pitching, brought the Cardinals back to tie the game.  J.J. Putz and a slip-and-fall by Daniel Murphy allowed St. Louis to score two in the 8th inning.

The Mets bats were there early, scoring four times in the first four innings.  Then the bats went to sleep and they didn’t pick up a hit from the sixth inning on.  You can’t win a game like that.

Just a sloppy, poorly played game by the Mets.  They had a 4-0 lead and let is slip away.  They just looked awful.

For the full game recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

Live Blog: NYM @ STL

Join in for another Mets baseball live chat as Oliver Perez takes on the St. Louis Cardinals in Busch Stadium.  The chat will start at 8 p.m.

Swapping Figueroa and O’Day for Fossum

The Mets called up Nelson Figueroa for a spot start in place of Mike Pelfrey on Sunday.  To make room for Figueroa, the Mets put Darren O’Day on Rule 5 waivers.

Only hours after Figueroa turned in a quality start, the Mets designated him for assignment to make room for Casey Fossum.

Essentially, the Mets had traded O’Day for a quality start out of Figueroa, then traded Figueroa for Fossum.  Both O’Day and Figueroa both have a chance to stick with the Mets organization if no other team claims them.  (O’Day would also have to be turned down by the Angels organization with his $25,000 price tag.)

Fossum, who is 0-0 with a 0.82 ERA with the Buffalo Bisons this year, will be available in the bullpen and could possibly make a start this week.

What I don’t understand about this move is why the Mets didn’t just call up Fossum for the start on Sunday.  Would he have really been that bad against the Milwaukee Brewers?  Calling up Figueroa, watching him turn in a decent performance and then promptly waving goodbye to him is not a way to treat any player.

The Mets may very well have thrown away a good player with this roster move.  Hopefully they can retain both players, as they both are effective in their own capacity.

Just poor roster handling by the Mets on this one.

Do the Mets hate Ryan Church?

In the past two weeks, the Mets have signed Gary Sheffield to a major league contract and added Willy Mo Peña to the minor league roster.  This past off-season, they also signed Cory Sullivan to a major league deal, added Jeremy Reed via trade, re-signed Angel Pagan and entertained the notion of Nick Evans and Marlon Anderson in the outfield.

Obviously, with Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis set in left field, there is a worry about if either of them is a capable enough fielder and if their bats would outweigh their shoddy gloves.

But over the last few games, Sheffield is starting to see more time in right field and the addition of Peña cannot be overlooked. 

Do the Mets trust Ryan Church?  Do they think he can rebound to 2008 PC (pre-concussions)?

So far, Church has given the Mets little inclination that he would be slipping back into the second half of 2008.  He’s currently batting .378/.477/.541.  Of his 14 hits, six are doubles.

He has only driven in two runs so far, and has only scored four times, but that is a problem that is greater than Church.  The whole team is struggling with runners in scoring position, so it would be unfair to to peg that against him.

The latest moves the Mets have been making are somewhat beneficial to the team, I just wonder if it will come at any cost to Ryan Church.

Twitter Poll: What to do with Doc’s signature?

Yesterday, the firestorm that was the Doc Gooden Signature Scandal broke and was “resolved” by the New York Mets.

If you happened to be living under a rock yesterday, the story goes that Gooden took out a Sharpie and signed a section of the wall in the Ebbets Club.  It reads “Doc Gooden 84 R.O.Y., 85 Cy Young, 86 W.S. Champs.”  Pretty cool if you ask me.  Not so much if you ask the Mets.

A report came out that the Mets were going to cover up the signature, because the building is “brand new.”

Well, after an outpouring of criticism from both the media and the fans, the Mets have “decided” to keep the signature, just move it elsewhere.  (Anyone know how they’re going to move an entire section of a wall?)

"We've listened to our fans on this," Mets PR chief Jay Horwitz said. "The last thing we want is for them or Doc to be upset. We just didn't want everyone to think it was OK to start writing on walls all over the stadium.”

So last night, I asked my Twitter followers if the Mets should remove the signature.  I also asked them who else they would like to see sign the wall.  Here are their responses…

• susi__ said: Every Met...EVER..or legend if there isn't enough room.
• Retire31 said: No, move it if anything. / I want my fellow Filipino comrade, Benny Agbayani to sign it!
• metschick said: NO! I'd love to see Kiner (among others) sign the wall.
• Section518 said: Next up has to be Mex. Keith would eat that up...and he wouldn't even have to travel.
• fscker said: that signature was epic, they should have put glass around it.
• d_kris said: Doc did too much for the team to diss him by painting over it! Seaver, Piazza, '86 & '69 teams, Bobby V, etc, all should sign
• metgirl4ever said: No!! Piazza & Keith
• DonCheech said: No, move it like they said they would. also, every Met alive should sign the wall.
• supermannino said: I would rather have anything from Doc Gooden over Mike Piazza. What Doc did in his extracurricular time only hurt himself...
• kerelcoop said: for starters, everyone from the 86 team should sign
• darknova306 said: I'd want the infield from 99 and the 86 championship team to sign it.
• MetsNY81 said: Definitely keep it! I think any true Mets fan would agree. Would be cool if other members of the ‘86 team signed as well.

And from the peanut gallery / jokesters…

• kierankelly said: They should actually make it a feature and get all different Mets to sign the wall. It would be a cool feature.
• ProctorsArm said: No. Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Roy Campanella. Oh wait.
• PerpetualMemory said: Steve Philips and Victor Zambrano hah

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about Doc’s signature and who else should sign the wall.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Report: Mets sign Willy Mo Peña [Updated]

According to the Web site almemento.net, the Mets have signed Willy Mo Peña to a minor league deal (via Retire31).

UPDATE – 7:40 p.m.: SNY has corroborated this report.

It’s a good signing because you can never have enough players.  The Mets seem hell-bent on signing outfielders with attitude problems.  It will help Buffalo, that’s for sure.  He’ll be up with the Mets sometime in 2009.

The translated version of the report reads…

SANTO DOMINGO. - The Dominican gardener Wily Mo Rock reached an agreement of smaller league with the set of the Meters of New York that will report about $400 to him thousands dollars reason why he remains of the season.

According to a source informed into whole credit, the Dominican one accepted the pact with the New York troops with the condition of which it would not remain in the minority circuits by more than two months.

It will not be until this Sunday or Monday when one hopes that the Mets makes the company/signature with Rock public.

Obviously, I’m skeptical of this report.  Take it with a large grain of salt.

The article claims it’s a minor league deal, worth $400,000.

Peña refused to his assignment to minor league camp with the Washington Nationals and was granted his unconditional release from the organization on March 31.

The Mets had originally signed Peña as a free agent in 1998.  Over seven seasons in the major leagues, Peña has played for three different teams, compiling a .253 AVG / .307 OBP / .447 SLG.  He’s driven in 225 runs, with his best year coming in 2004 with Cincinnati when he drove in 66 runs.

With the Buffalo Bisons off to a 1-10 start, I guess they need a bit of a kick-start.  Maybe Peña’s attitude will rustle some feathers.

Would you root for the New York Burros?

I was browsing one of my favorite sites today, mental_floss, and I came across an article entitled “What Your Favorite Team Was Almost Called.”

Obviously, this deals with the Mets, otherwise it wouldn’t be here.  Here’s what mental_floss had to say…

11. The New York Skyliners
Before the New York Mets started play in 1962, they considered a list of names that included the Skyliners, the Skyscrapers, the Bees, the Burros, the Continentals, and the Jets.

The New York Burros.  Interesting.  I get what they were trying to do with the “boroughs” = “burros” thing, but that name would backfire in the team’s face as soon as they performed poorly.

And since we all know a little Mets history, that 1962 season would have been quite interesting if they were in fact called the Burros.

And that makes two animal images on the blog today.

Twitter Poll: What’s the biggest problem facing the Mets so far?

The Mets dropped the series finale to Milwaukee by a score of 4-2 yesterday.  Though they won the series, they are 6-7 6-6 on the season heading into a three game series with St. Louis starting on Tuesday.

Last night, I asked my Twitter followers what is the biggest problem facing the Mets so far?  Here are their responses…

• lvadgal said: biggest problem is not a new one - too many runners left on base.
• jessicarubin said: Definitely leaving way too many runners on base. We get a good hit or 2 but then can't get them home.
• susi__ said: NO CLUTCH HITTING!! Too many ducks left in the pond.
• fscker said: same problem as last year, the bats go to sleep after the 3rd inning.
• metschick said: Inconsistent offense.
• d_kris said: Clutch hitting. Too many LOB as today displayed.
• zim1021 said: Lack of run support.
• PerpetualMemory said: Much like last year the Mets have the uncanny ability to not get hits with RISP time after time. It's like their super power
• JTKrycek said: getting on base is great, but what's it really worth if those runners don't score? MORE RUNS PER GAME PLEASE!!
• supermannino said: The biggest problem with the Mets so far is the inconsistent starting pitching from 2-4. Johan and Livan are a-ok...
• fullnelson said: Mets biggest problem so far this season is: RISP - LOB = too many ducks left on the pond
• thebrowncoat said: Lack of production with RISP.
• darknova306 said: Our biggest problem is the vast quantity of runners stranded. Games are out of reach when we get 2 or more behind.
• gmo418 said: Too many runners left on base
• MetsNY81 said: I'm going to have to say their offense. It seems almost non-existent lately.

And from the peanut gallery…

• ProctorsArm said: Gary Sheffield isn't getting enough at-bats.

It seems everyone is in agreement on this one.  The offense seems to be sputtering,  especially with runners on base and even more so when they’re in scoring position.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about the biggest problem facing the Mets in ‘09…

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Nelson Figueroa DFA’d; Casey Fossum promoted

Mere hours after Nelson Figueroa went out and pitched six innings, surredering three runs to the Brewers, the New York Mets designated the journeyman and Brooklyn native for assignment.

The Mets have pruchased the contract of Casey Fossum from Triple-A Buffalo, according to Brendan Prunty of NJ.com.

Fossum, a lefty, will likely enter the bullpen to give the team another southpaw as they’re set to face a lefthanded dominant St. Louis club in the coming days.

I feel bad for Figueroa, who spun some magic last season with the Mets before coming back down to earth.  He put together a very nice spring training and World Baseball Classic, and I was slightly surprised he didn’t make the team when they came north.

I figured Figueroa would stick in the bullpen after making the spot start for Mike Pelfrey, giving the Mets a versatile arm for long relief or multiple innings.

Game Recap: Brewers 4 – Mets 2

Too many runners left on base dooms the Mets.

The Mini Recap

Nelson Figueroa had a decent outing, and kept the Mets in the game.  Jeff Suppan scattered eight hits over six plus innings, allowing only two runs.  The offense just couldn’t click, as they left 10 runners on base.

Carlos Delgado drove in one with an RBI double in the first and Jose Reyes drove in Omir Santos in the seventh.  The Mets hit two triples and three doubles.  Reyes and Daniel Murphy each had three hits, while Carlos Beltran and Santos had two.  Santos hit a double and a triple in his first Mets start.

It was a problem of leaving too many ducks on the pond and not coming through with runners in scoring position, a problem that plagued them all last year.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

Johan Santana’s 2009 season so far

Johan Santana is 2-1 in 2009, with each game he’s pitched so far ending by a one run margin.  He, and the Mets, won the first game by a score of 2-1 over Cincinnati. 

Santana was then outdueled by Josh Johnson and the Marlins 1-0 thanks to a Daniel Murphy error. 

Yesterday, he allowed five singles and no Brewer ever touched second base.  The Mets won 1-0 and Santana earned his second win of the season.

So far, Santana has been nothing short of dominant.  In three starts, he’s allowed only one earned run.  That means in 19 2-3 innings, he has a 0.46 ERA.

Zero point four six.

Santana had made it through seven  innings twice and has only allowed 11 hits, only two of which were doubles.  The rest were singles.  He’s walked five, meaning he’s only allowed 16 runners to reach base.  Only two of those runners have touched third base.

He’s also struck out 27.  Through three games, he’s faced 76 batters and Santana has struck out 35.6 percent of them.

What else can be said about Santana?  He’s undoubtedly one of the best, if not the best pitcher in the league.  So far, he’s the Mets MVP.

With a much stronger bullpen behind him, Santana seems on pace for a spectacular season.

Figueroa to pitch in Pelfrey’s spot on Sunday; O’Day placed on Rule V waivers

The Mets have confirmed that Mike Pelfrey will skip his next start, scheduled for Sunday against the Brewers. Nelson Figueroa has been promoted to pitch in his place.

To make room for Figueroa, Rule V draft pick Darren O’Day has been placed on waivers.  If no team claims him, he must be offered back to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for $25,000.

Game Recap: Mets 1 – Brewers 0

Another pitchers duel, but this time Johan Santana came out on top.

The Mini Recap

Santana to J.J. Putz to Francisco Rodriguez: exactly how the Mets fans want to see it.  A spectacular effort from the pitching staff, holding the Brewers to six singles over nine inning.  The Brewer staff of Yovani Gallardo and Carlos Villanueva also combined to hold the Mets to six hits.

The lone run of the game scored on a fielders choice in the bottom of the seventh inning, and for the men on the mound, that was enough.

A solid effort from both teams in another exciting matchup at Citi Field.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

Sheffield’s 500 home runs by team

The most important home run is in bold.  Obviously, that’s the only one he’s hit for the Mets, and it was a game tying shot.  It was also his 500th career homer.