Nieve hurt; Niese or Figueroa will get chance

Another day, two more Mets losses.  One gets notched up in the loss column, the other scratches a player off the roster.

Fernando Nieve went down in the bottom of the second inning trying to leg out a groundball.  His foot landed on first base awkwardly and he went down in heap on the first base line.  He was said to have a right quadriceps strain, but more will be revealed after an MRI today.

One has to feel terribly for Nieve who was making the most of his chance at the big league level.

Now, the Mets have a choice to make: Nelson Figueroa, the journeyman pitcher they’ve designated for assignment twice in 2009, or Jon Niese, the young prospect who has seen the majors with little success so far, but is mowing down the International League.

Figueroa, who pitched once for the Mets in 2009, despite being called up twice, turned in a quality start against the Milwaukee Brewers before being DFA’d the first time.  For Triple-A Buffalo, Figueroa was the team’s lone All-Star representative.

For the months of June and July, Figueroa made eight starts, winning six of them.  His ERA was a miniscule 1.41, with a WHIP below 1.000 at 0.998.

Niese made two starts for the Mets in 2009.  In 10 2-3 innings, he surrendered 14 hits and seven earned runs.  But over June and July for Buffalo, he was equally impressive as Figueroa.

In the past two months, Niese has made nine starts, winning five.  His ERA over the past three games is an unbelievable 0.41, as he allowed only one earned run in his last 22 innings.

If the Mets choose Figueroa to fill the roster spot, I feel that it will signal that they still believe they can compete in 2009 and want a “veteran” to come up to fill the spot.  If they opt for Niese, it would seem that they are planning ahead for 2010 and will let Niese progress at the major league level, a la Mike Pelfrey a few years ago.

Though the Mets have two solid options waiting in upstate New York, whichever player they choose will show their attitude for the 2009 season.

Manuel’s Musing

“We still have 24 other players.  We still can get some things done.”

-Jerry Manuel on Mets injuries

Weekend away; Twitter updates

I’m out and about and there is no Internet where I am.  I have cell service, so I will be tweeting updates and news about the Mets until Sunday night.

Manuel’s Musing

“They're calling it cramps . . . surgery on Thursday.”

-Jerry Manuel (jokingly) on Gary Sheffield’s injury

Thanks, Kerel!

Lugo soon?

Julio Lugo is working out at the Mets camp in the Dominican Republic and could join the Mets as soon as he is released, according to Adam Rubin.

The Mets need to wait until he is officially released by the Boston Red Sox before signing him to some sort of contract.  Rubin also notes that Tim Redding would likely be the player cut from the roster.  The Mets seem willing to eat his $2.5 million contract.

I wrote yesterday that this would be a bad move, especially with Angel Berroa recently in the fold.  How many middle infielders can the Mets really bring in?

Game Chat: NYM @ ATL [Game 89]

Mike Pelfrey (7-4, 4.47 ERA) vs. Jair Jurrjens (7-7, 2.91 ERA)

Join in for some game gabbing and barstool banter with your fellow fans!

(Chat removed, as usual.)

Lineup for Game 89

@benshpigel: According to the Mets' game notes, they are 9-5 on Friday's (their apostrophe, not mine) but 3-4 at Applebee's and 2-1 at Chili's.

The Mets will try to get to double-digit wins tonight behind Mike Pelfrey. And here’s the lineup that will be being Big Pelf…

1. Angel Pagan – CF
2. Luis Castillo – 2B
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Gary Sheffield – LF
5. Jeff Francoeur – RF
6. Daniel Murphy – 1B
7. Alex Cora – SS
8. Omir Santos – C
9. Mike Pelfrey - RHP

Game Chat will be up at 7:30 p.m.

Julio Lugo DFA’d; Are the Mets that desperate?

The Mets just brought Angel Berroa into the fold.  They promoted him to the major league team after just four games in their minor league system.  But could they be looking to pick up another SS off the scrap heap from hell?

Julio Lugo was designated for assignment today by the Boston Red Sox and could be released by the team very soon, according to WEEI.

Lugo, who has seen his name tossed around in trade talks for years now, was once connected to the Mets in rumors, however unfounded or speculative.  Omar Minaya seems to like Lugo, but hopefully that has passed.  But would the Mets be that desperate to pick yet another player off the scrap heap?

I sure hope not.

I was against the Gary Sheffield pick up, but he has proven me wrong.  I was against Livan Hernandez signing, but he gave the Mets a decent half season.  I was against the Fernando Tatis signing last year, but he was amazing in 2008.  (2009 is a much different story.)

And of course, I was against Berroa coming on board (even if he is replacing Argenis Reyes).  And I would be absolutely horrified if Julio Lugo found his way into Mets orange and blue.

Even if the Red Sox are willing to take a huge chunk of his salary, it just isn’t worth it.

I think, if Lugo did end up playing his home games in Flushing, it would signal the white flag to the rest of the NL East.  I hope it doesn’t happen.

Twitter Poll: Have you given up on the Mets season?

It may be too soon to judge, as the team is only a few games past the midway point, but the Mets are 7.5 games back and fading.  So I turned to Twitter and asked my followers if they have given up on the Mets season.

Here are their responses…

julierubes said: No, because I'm hoping by the time they come to play the Cubs they have their "usual guys" back in the lineup and are winning

kevin_tor said: I'm trying to give up on the season because I think that's our only chance. They always do the opposite of what I expect.

maggie162 said: Nope, because "giving up" doesn't mean anything. I watch games, cheer, be happy when they win and sad when they don't.

gobears1001 said: no, I want to see the guys get back yet but if we lose all three series this trip then I won't hold my breath anymore.

wendy93639 said: Given up? why would anyone ever do that? who else you going to root for? if the #mets show up.. I show up. Even the JV squad.

pAuLiE_bRuZ said: as much as i dont want to admit giving up on this team its just so hard to sit watch a game and act like im interested still

swirlywand said: No! Now is not the time to defect...if we stuck thru two HORRIBLE endings..we can tough out some tough love for the #mets!

thebrowncoat said: There's always hope, but the realist in me says this team doesn't have enough to put it together.

thebrowncoat continued: Plus, I'm still pissed at Sports Illustrated for jinxing us by picking us to win the World Series.

metsjetsgirl said: No. As Mets fans know, 7.5 games can be caught up.. um.. rather quickly. We need our guys back. YA GOTTA BELIEVE!

tvrob said: i gave up bcs of everything i see, seeing is believing

cvelardi said: I can't give up, can't stop watching.. but I certainly don't have any post-season expectations.

kerelcoop said: no. Mets play is the worst division in baseball. 7 games back is nothing. A 3 week stretch of hot baseball & they’re back in it.

gwong said: I've given up on the idea of this being a season of consequence but that doesn't stop me from watching it painfully unfold.

DqtmaReyz said: - season's been in the books for a while. It's just a bad team in a bad circumstance.

disgruntmetsfan said: Yes because they don't get points for hitting into double plays

tyronem said: I am scaling back - it's too painful to watch some of these games.

kdoster said: No way! I still believe in them... Until its September and they are completely out of contention.

Ryan_J_Smith said: For now i'm not counting the mets out b/c nobody in the NL East is that strong. If they get hot they're back in it

brianjtang said: Yes, given up on Mets Season. 7.5 games is attainable. Just not with the current roster.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to discuss whether or not you’ve given up on the Mets season.

Follow me on Twitter (@TheRopolitans) to
participate in the next Twitter Poll!

Manuel’s Musing

“We didn't beat ourselves.”

-Jerry Manuel