In a somewhat joke of a poll, I asked fans who the ace of the Mets rotation was now that Johan Santana is on the DL.
Here are the results…
Now if only Mike Pelfrey can turn in his last performance for the every start.
Next Poll: Is Omir Santos your starting catcher in 2010?
Have you seen this apple lately?
The Mets have hit only 42 home runs this season, with Gary Sheffield leading the team. Sheffield had only 307 plate appearances for the Mets, good for sixth most on the team.
18 different players hit home runs for the Mets this season. They are…
| Player | Home Runs |
| Gary Sheffield | 10 |
| Daniel Murphy | 9 |
| David Wright | 8 |
| Carlos Beltran | 8 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 7 |
| Fernando Tatis | 7 |
| Omir Santos | 6 |
| Angel Pagan | 6 |
| Carlos Delgado | 4 |
| Ramon Castro | 3 |
| Brian Schneider | 3 |
| Cory Sullivan | 2 |
| Jose Reyes | 2 |
| Ryan Church | 2 |
| Nick Evans | 1 |
| Luis Castillo | 1 |
| Alex Cora | 1 |
| Fernando Martinez | 1 |
Yeesh. That’s a sad list.
-Jerry Manuel on last night’s game
Carlos Beltran made his return to the Mets tonight after missing 70 games and just missed out on being the hero in the 7th inning.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Beltran came to the plate and hit a deep drive to right field. Rightfielder Cody Ross turned and chased the ball to the track as Beltran’s ball fell a few feet short of the wall. The Mets fell to the Marlins by a score of 4-2, their 76th loss of the year.
This loss is so much worse because there’s a die-hard Marlins fan sleeping on my couch for the next few days. Argh.
Tim Redding pitched only five innings, surrendering a pair of two-run home runs to Hanley Ramirez and Cameron Maybin. The Mets used five relievers to patch together the next four innings of work.
The Mets got runs off of a Josh Thole sac-fly, his first major league RBI.
Congrats, Thole. Here’s to many more.
Luis Castillo drove in Angel Pagan, who tripled, on an infield single in the fifth inning for the Mets other run.
When Castillo is third on the team in RBI, you know there’s a problem.
Rick VandenHurk (2-2, 4.91 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (2-4, 5.70 ERA)
(Chat removed, as usual.)
Look who is back!
Game Chat will be up at 7 p.m.
In a dismal season, the Mets are getting creative. From meet and greets with fans to gimmicks on TV, the team is hoping people keep tuning in even if the team isn’t winning.
The gimmicks on TV will come into play tonight and tomorrow, both giving Gary Cohen some well deserved time off.
Tonight, during the 6th inning of the game, the SNY broadcast will go completely silent. No announcers will be on – at all – during the entire inning, rather letting the actions on the field speak for themselves.
I wonder if Cohen has his fingers crossed that no spectacular play will occur during this inning of play.
Tomorrow, Cohen will get the entire day off. Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling will be at the helm for the entire game.
You may remember that Cohen had a day off earlier in the year with Kevin Burkhardt taking over the play calling duties. Tomorrow, though, is all Darling and Hernandez.
I like these little things SNY does to keep the TV feed fresh. Last year we saw Hernandez sitting behind home plate and discussing the game from the field perspective. We also saw all three broadcasters move up to the upper deck level and call an entire game from that perch.
I dig it.
Last week, I linked to a Jayson Stark article full of doom and gloom for the Mets. Today, I’ll link you in the direction of a Peter Gammons article that has a much more optimistic outlook on the Mets moving forward.
Though neither were spot on, I think Gammons has a more realistic take on the team. It might not be so easy as he laid it out, but I think he’s closer on the pulse of the Mets than Stark was.
Earlier, I joked that there will be a lot of “Stoner” jerseys in Citi Field from now on. I didn’t anticipate all the puns from my friends on Twitter, but there were all there. So here, for your enjoyment is the begging of the Stoner List…
(Yes, the Mets season has come to this.)
yaysarcasm: I hear the club is very high on him
yaysarcasm: He's uncannily good at forgetting about bad games
davidgolden99: His contract says he only plays on natural grass.
pAuLiE_bRuZ: if he strikes someone out, oh he just got stoned? i can hear gary now
LouieBolkovic: Is Stoner's jersey # going to be 420?
swirlywand: "even count-Stoner deals from the stretch - a little high"
drsexington: "Have you met his girlfriend, Mary Jane?"
drsexington: "His pitching style has chronically been described as blunt."
drsexington: Or maybe when he gives up a homer, someone can pull a Major League and say "Oh no, no. Too high. It's too high."
acesigma: Stoner gives up a lot of hits, but most of them are blunts -- I mean bunts.
Retire31: Tobi's a fine pitcher. His specialty is giving up high fly balls.
metgirl4ever: announcers saying *man he likes those diving plays into the grass* & *he cant layoff the high pitches*
Ryan_J_Smith: I heard management's first assignment for Stoner is to talk to Razor Shines on how marijuana can affect decision making
fullnelson: look at that kid, hes such a stoner!
gwong: Tobi Stoner has a hollowed out bat but it's not for cork; it's actually his bong.
Do you have another pun for Stoner? Leave it in the comments!
Tobi Stoner, a 24-year-old righthander, is expected to be called up to the Mets for Tuesday’s game at Citi Field, reports Adam Rubin.
Stoner went 9-9 between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Buffalo this season. He went 2-2 with Binghamton and 7-7 with Buffalo.
He compiled a 3.55 ERA and a 1.154 WHIP in 144 2-3 innings. He allowed 14 home runs while striking out 92 and walking 47.
Stoner is likely up for insurance purposes, as John Maine is starting in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday. Maine is coming back from a long stint on the DL with shoulder issues.
Does anyone else foresee a whole lot of “Stoner” jerseys selling out?