Manuel’s Musing

“I think we're close to putting together another winning streak.”

-Jerry Manuel

Game Recap: Nationals 6 – Mets 4

Roger Bernadina is the new Willie Harris.

The Good

The top of the order - Jose Reyes, Alex Cora and Jose Reyes – combined for five hits, two runs and three RBI.

Takahashi > Feliciano > Nieve.  Seems to be the progression Jerry is going to go with until one of their arms falls off.  So far, though, it’s working.

Mike Pelfrey’s start.  He struck out the side in the first, then got into a jam in the second.  With the bases loaded, he notched two more outs via strikeouts before opposing pitcher Craig Stammen knocked in two with a single.

119 pitches.  Pelfrey was allowed to match his career high pitch count.  Too bad it only got him 5 2/3 innings.

Pelfrey also singled in a run in the second inning.

David Wright walked twice.

The Bad & Ugly

Roger Bernadina.  R-Ber hit his first major league home run in the fourth inning, a solo shot.  He then went yard again, off Francisco Rodriguez, in the 9th inning for the go-ahead runs.  And in the field, he made a three-run saving catch, diving for a ball off the bat of Jeff Francoeur.

Stammen, the Nats pitcher, went 2-3 with three RBI.  Yup.

The Mets are now 0-6 in rubber games in 2010.

Tyler Clippard, at 7-1, now leads the majors in wins.  He’s a reliever.

Matt Capps leads the majors in saves, with 14.

Game Ball

Unfortunately, Roger Bernadina.

On Deck

The Mets travel to sunny and warm Miami for their first time this season.  A 7 p.m. game.

Move the Islanders to Queens

Jeff Wilpon, the Mets' chief operating officer, said Tuesday he has talked with Islanders owner Charles Wang about building an arena in Queens as a possible home for the hockey team.

-Katie Strang, Newsday

I’m all for it.  Make the disaster that is Willets Point go away.

Game Chat: WAS @ NYM [Game 33]

Chat removed, as usual.

Read that, then this

That: Time For Junior To Grow Up by Denise Winter, Mets Merized Online

This: Here’s the problem with Wright/Reyes and White/Black comparison in a nutshell, from a Mets fan, mind you.  I know Denise through blogging and the like, but I have to take issue with this article. 

Wright gets tossed, with an empty bench, and he “reacted.”  Reyes gets tossed, and he has “to grow up.”

Why are these situations different and why is Wright getting off scot-free?

This, as I’ve learned in my oh-so-many sports studies classes at Quinnipiac, is what we’ve come to know as veiled racism.  If a white player does something wrong, it’s reacting, an outlier to the norm and shocking.  If a black, or in this case Latino, player does the same, it’s immature, childish and a bad attitude.

Frankly, whether you like it or not, Wright’s ejection was worse.  Knowing the bench was empty, the Mets would have had to use a pitcher in the field if the game continued.  When Reyes got tossed, at least there were players on the bench who could come in and fill his role.

It’s like when a black player excels, it’s due to “natural skill” or something along those lines, but a white player “had to work hard to get to this level.”  Bull.  Both players had to work equally hard and long to refine their skills to play at such a high level.

Wright and Reyes were both wrong for getting tossed, but in the grand scheme of things, Wright’s could of and would have hurt the team more.  If you want to fault someone, fault them both. 

Reyes is playing the game just like everyone else – and should be treated as such.

Really?

“It’s sort of good now that there is debris to be blown out there. It shows people are spending some money and buying food and drink and enjoying themselves.”

-Dave Howard, Mets executive vice president for business operations

Um, yeah.

The curious case of the five baseball cards

On Saturday, I moved back in with my parents as my four years of college came to an end.  They were returning from Virginia late Saturday night as well.  My mother stopped the mail for that week, so when she went to get it at the post office yesterday, she came back with a small package for me.

In a small manila envelope, addressed to me, were five brand new New York Mets baseball cards in plastic protective sleeves.  Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Francisco Rodriguez and Johan Santana.  

Pretty cool, right?

One problem: I don’t know who they’re from or why I got them.

The package is from an Alan Duda from Rhode Island.  I think I found him on Facebook, but I can’t be sure. 

But why am I getting these?  How does he know my address?  Why these five cards?

The strangest thing about it is that they came alone.  There was no letter, no note, no nothing.  Just five cards in a small envelope.

Am I supposed to sign them and send them back?  If so, is this the first time a Mets blogger had been asked for his or her autograph?

My best guess for my address is that he got it off my resume, which I have linked above.  But why me?  Why these five cards?  Why no note?

I’ve reached out to Alan to ask for an explanation, but am yet to hear a response.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.  I already have the five cards set up in my room.  Just found it a little odd.

Has this happened to anyone else?  Is Alan on a mass mailing campaign to spread Mets cards to other fans?  The mystery is yet to be solved…

Either way, thanks!

Manuel’s Musing

“It's a team concern, no doubt about it. We will do what we can to address the approach. When situations come, basically breath and enjoy.”

-Jerry Manuel on strikeouts

Oh, happy day!

Chris Carter called up from Buffalo. Frank Catalanotto DFAd.

-Brian Costa

Be right back, too busy dancing.

Game Recap: Nationals 3 – Mets 2

Twenty-three combined hits, five combined runs.

The Good

I’m going to slot in John Maine’s start into “The Good.”  Sure, he threw almost 90 percent fastballs, but he surrendered two runs over six innings.  They came on back-to-back homers in the third inning.  He walked four (one IBB) and struck out five.  You know, I’ll take it.

My boy Hisanori Takahashi.

Every Mets position player had a hit.

Alex Cora taking over for Jose Reyes.  He made an awesome stop and backward flip from his stomach to save a run in the 9th and singled in the bottom half of the inning.

Angel Pagan homered in the 9th to give fans a glimmer of hope, until…

The Bad & Ugly

…That hope was ripped away by a check-swing strikeout by Jason Bay to end the game.  Youch.

Only two of the Mets 12 hits were for extra bases.

The Mets left 11 runners on base.

Pedro Feliciano was in wayyyyy too long.  I’m fine with him facing Adam Dunn, but Josh Willingham and Ivan Rodriguez?  Wrong.  The run he gave up ended up being the game winner.

Jose Reyes and Jerry Manuel were tossed.  Not really awful, but yeah…

Game Ball

Pagan.

On Deck

Mets and Nats do it again tomorrow, 7 p.m.