Mets Fans Forever

Mets Lose 9-5

Author: Will Hernandez

The L.A. Dodgers (27-27) Friday ended the New York Mets’ (26-27) three-game winning with a 9-5 win at Shea Stadium.

Sometimes you get calls to go your way and sometimes you don’t. The Mets were on the wrong side of a blown call Friday night and it opened the floodgates to a Dodgers win. Up 5-4 in the eighth inning, Juan Pierre hit a slow grounder to Jose Reyes at short. Reyes made a nice scoop and running throw, but the speedy Pierre appeared to have beat it out. But the replay showed first base umpire Tim Welke missed the call as Pierre was out by a half a step. Willie Randolph made his case, but the damage was done. Aaron Heilman relieved Pedro Feliciano and the wheels fell off.

Heilman, who looked like he has turned things around, took a big step back as he was charged with four of the five runs that scored in the inning and didn’t record an out. Matt Kemp, Jeff Kent, Russell Martin and Blake DeWitt had RBI hits in the inning and James Loney scored on a Scott Schoenweis wild pitch.

Seeing Heilman struggle the way he did tonight was disappointing. When he is at his best, he is very good. And it wasn’t like the Dodgers were really pounding the ball. Again, very frustrating to see.

The Mets missed some chances to blow this game open as they stranded nine men on base. They had the bases loaded three times in this game and scored only three runs. It might have been just one had Blake DeWitt knew what he was doing in certain situations. The Mets scored an odd run in the seventh to take a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning. With the bases loaded, Ramon Castro smoked one back at Chan Ho Park that ricocheted off him to DeWitt at third. He had a chance to throw David Wright out at home and even appeared to look that way, but decided to take the sure out at first.

As a third basemen by trade, DeWitt’s defense tonight frustrated me. But he did help out the Mets, so it was all good in the end.

John Maine did not have his best stuff tonight, but battled to keep the Mets in the game and that was all Willie Randolph could ask for in this game. The Dodgers scored three quick runs in the third inning, but Maine was able to keep his composure as the Mets battled back, thanks in large part to a two-run homer by Luis Castillo in the bottom of the first. But Maine didn’t help himself when he allowed a solo homer to Russell Martin to start the fourth inning.

Despite the loss, it was good to see the Mets battle back the way they did. That kinf of fight was nonexistent a couple of weeks ago. The Mets are still in a good position this weekend. Johan Santana pitches on Sunday and this team turns it up a notch when he’s on the mound. Saturday is the big game of this series. If Mike Pelfrey can somehow find himself, it will give this team a big lift. Pelfrey is fighting for his spot in the rotation right now. I think at this point in his career he’s better suited in the bullpen, but at some point he needs to get himself straight as a starter.

Some notes from Friday: The Mets have not won a game in which they’ve trailed by three or more runs all season. …Jose Reyes has a 15-game hitting streak and has reached base in 30 straight games as a leadoff hitter, which is a new team record. The old was shared by Tommie Agee, Lance Johnson and Benny Agbayani. …Luis Castillo left the game in the seventh inning with a strained left hip flexor. Damian Easley replaced him. 

May 29

Mets 8, Dodgers 4

Author: Will Hernandez

The transformation continues as the New York Mets (26-26) Thursday beat the L.A. Dodgers 8-4 at Shea Stadium.

While the bench players have been coming through lately for the Mets, Thursday it was the regulars’ turn. Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado went a combined 11-for-21 with seven runs scored. And the Mets turned the tables and scored all eight of their runs with two outs.

Amazing what the Mets do to Brad Penny (5-6). He is now 1-10 lifetime at Shea Stadium and 5-13 overall. The righthander looked good through the first 2 2/3 innings, but then the Mets decided to get busy with two outs and continued the theme throughout the night. Castillo walked and then Wright hit his first of two, two-runs homers in the game.

If Wright gets on one of these power surges, is it possible Willie Randolph moves him to the cleanup spot? Why not? Beltran is not a cleanup hitter, plain and simple. He really is more of a No. 2 hitter, but slipping him in the three spot is not a bad idea. Time will tell.

The fourth inning will turn out to be one of the strangest you’ll see all season. With two outs, Claudio Vargas appeared to ground out to shortstop. But not so fast. Catcher Russell Martin was called for the rare catcher’s interference. The Mets got an extra life and took advantage and scored four runs to take a 6-0 lead. Wright hit his second two-run homer of the game.

Vargas pitched well for the first four innings, but fell apart a bit in the fifth inning as Jeff Kent his a solo home run and Blake DeWitt hit a two-run homer three batters later. The Dodgers added a run in the sixth inning to cut the Mets lead to 6-4, but Carlos Muniz came up with a big strikeout of Matt Kemp.

It’s funny how no one is complaining about Randolph’s use of the bullpen now. That’s what happens when the starters get to the sixth inning and those guys have a chance to recover. The pen was taxed in the beginning of the year because the starters had trouble getting to the fifth inning. That hasn’t been the case lately and the bullpen has flourished as a result. The starters need to continue to give at least six innings each time is the bullpen is going to remain effective.

The bottom of the lineup came through in the seventh inning Endy Chavez continued to be Endy Chavez and had a broken bat RBI single, and against a lefty no less. Brian Schneider then followed with an RBI single of his own.

Well, that is three in a row now and the Mets need to keep this going. Chavez set the tone for the night when he threw out Juan Pierre trying to tag home in the first inning. Carlos Delgado looked inspired and turned in a nifty diving stop in the fourth inning. The team looks like it has a lot of energy and Pedro Martinez and Ryan Church are on the way back.

One thing I noticed about Reyes on the field tonight is the way he approaches some groundballs. I think everyone is usually taught to the first step you take on a grounder is in. But often Reyes let’s those groundballs come to him and bounce up in his midsection. I think that’s what his problem has been so far. He can stay back on those balls because of his cannon, but you have to catch them first.

Mets Win 8-4, Three in a Row!

Author: Will Hernandez

The transformation continues as the New York Mets (26-26) Thursday beat the L.A. Dodgers 8-4 at Shea Stadium.

While the bench players have been coming through lately for the Mets, Thursday it was the regulars’ turn. Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado went a combined 11-for-21 with seven runs scored. And the Mets turned the tables and scored all eight of their runs with two outs.

Amazing what the Mets do to Brad Penny (5-6). He is now 1-10 lifetime at Shea Stadium and 5-13 overall. The righthander looked good through the first 2 2/3 innings, but then the Mets decided to get busy with two outs and continued the theme throughout the night. Castillo walked and then Wright hit his first of two, two-runs homers in the game.

If Wright gets on one of these power surges, is it possible Willie Randolph moves him to the cleanup spot? Why not? Beltran is not a cleanup hitter, plain and simple. He really is more of a No. 2 hitter, but slipping him in the three spot is not a bad idea. Time will tell.

The fourth inning will turn out to be one of the strangest you’ll see all season. With two outs, Claudio Vargas appeared to ground out to shortstop. But not so fast. Catcher Russell Martin was called for the rare catcher’s interference. The Mets got an extra life and took advantage and scored four runs to take a 6-0 lead. Wright hit his second two-run homer of the game.

Vargas pitched well for the first four innings, but fell apart a bit in the fifth inning as Jeff Kent his a solo home run and Blake DeWitt hit a two-run homer three batters later. The Dodgers added a run in the sixth inning to cut the Mets lead to 6-4, but Carlos Muniz  came up with a big strikeout of Matt Kemp.

It’s funny how no one is complaining about Randolph’s use of the bullpen now. That’s what happens when the starters get to the sixth inning and those guys have a chance to recover. The pen was taxed in the beginning of the year because the starters had trouble getting to the fifth inning. That hasn’t been the case lately and the bullpen has flourished as a result. The starters need to continue to give at least six innings each time is the bullpen is going to remain effective.

The bottom of the lineup came through in the seventh inning Endy Chavez continued to be Endy Chavez and had a broken bat RBI single, and against a lefty no less. Brian Schneider then followed with an RBI single of his own.

Well, that is three in a row now and the Mets need to keep this going. Chavez set the tone for the night when he threw out Juan Pierre trying to tag home in the first inning. Carlos Delgado looked inspired and turned in a nifty diving stop in the fourth inning. The team looks like it has a lot of energy and Pedro Martinez and Ryan Church are on the way back.

One thing I noticed about Reyes on the field tonight is the way he approaches some groundballs. I think everyone is usually taught to the first step you take on a grounder is in. But often Reyes let’s those groundballs come to him and bounce up in his midsection. I think that’s what his problem has been so far. He can stay back on those balls because of his cannon, but you have to catch them first.

Mets Win 5-3, I'm not Kidding.

Author: Will Hernandez

Johan Santana and a revamped starting lineup led the New York Mets (24-26) to a 5-3 win against the Florida Marlins (30-21).

OK, everybody take a deep breath and relax a little.

Santana (6-3) gave the Mets exactly what they needed with a gritty seven-inning performance. The left-hander still hasn't given his team that one dominating start, but considering tonight's circumstances, it was as good as it gets. Santana allowed three runs, all earned, on eight hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. And no surprise, he allowed a home run.

You had to be a little worried about Santana in this game. The Marlins entered Tuesday's game with 71 homers, second-best in the majors behind Philadelphia's 77. For Santana to come away with only one home run allowed is a victory within a victory.

Manager Willie Randolph fielded an all-right starting eight and it paid off against Marlins starter Andrew Miller (4-4). The unorthodox lineup produced in the first inning as Damian Easley, Fernando Tatis and Ramon Castro drove in runs. Castro finished with two, two-out RBI and Tatis continues to be a nice surprise.

That being said to every game there is at least one negative.Jose Reyes's fielding problems continue to be a concern and it almost cost the Mets at least the lead in the seventh inning. Jorge Cantu reached first with one out after Reyes bobbled a ball up the middle. Jeremy Hermida was at third base at the time and would have easily scored even if Reyes did make the play cleanly. Blame Johan Santana's two wild pitches in the inning for that run. But Reyes gave a power-hitting team and extra out to play with. But again, Santana showed his worth when he retired Mike Jacobs on a line out to left and struck out Dan Uggla.

I thought Reyes's defense was going to be the least of the Mets' concerns this season, but that doesn't appear to be the case right now. It's not a good combination when one part of the left side of the infield has trouble making throws while the other half is mishandling routine ground balls.

Back to the positives!

I think Randolph made a good statement tonight by sitting Carlos Delgado. Not only did Delgado need a break, he needs to take some time to figure out what's going on. If Randolph decides to use a platoon situation from here on in, Delgado is just going to have to suck it. I think the platoon should be Nick Evans and Delgado. Get that kid to his natural position.

And speaking of Evans, he is totally over matched right now. His three-double performance in his major league debut last weekend seems like a distant memory. Usually what happens in these situations is a rookie is going to hit fastballs and that's what Evans did in his major league debut. But when they start seeing major league breaking balls, it's a whole different story. Don't forget, Evans was in Double A prior to last weekend. He didn't see the type of breaking balls in Binghamton he's seeing now. It will be interesting to see how Evans adjusts, which is really the mark of a good player.

Santana's seven-inning performance allowed Randolph to use the bullpen the way he wants. Duanar Sanchez recovered nicely after allowing a a lead off double to Luis Gonzalez in the eighth inning. David Wright then made two nice plays at third base and the pitching sequence to Wes Helms was by the book. Sanchez threw three straight change ups to a fastball hitter and Helms was over matched on change ups.

The pitch sequence to Helms was a perfect example of a player executing what is expected of him. I'm 100 percent sure the scouting report on Helms says he is a fastball hitter and to go after him with off speed stuff. Sanchez knew that. Castro knew that. The players still need to execute. Randolph puts players in certain spots because he believes they can get the job done. He's working with what he has. The players have to execute.

I think it is safe to say Wednesday is a must-win game. The Mets must win this series to build momentum into the four-game series against the Dodgers. And then the Mets need to take three-of-four. Santana is pitching again on Sunday, so you would like to think the Mets already have a win in the next series. They just have to find a way to win two more games. Easier said, obviously, but the Mets need to think that way. Oliver Perez needs to think that way. Perez needs to come up with a Yankee-like performance. I think he needs to bottle up that start and review every time he has a bad outing. Go back to what worked then and he'll be fine.

Opinion: Too Early to Look at Next Year?

Author: James Sukharev

    It seems to me like this year can already be forgotten as the transition year from old to young. I can see it now. Moises Alou is on his last year for $ 7.5 million, Carlos Delgado is out for $ 16 million, Pedro for $ 11.8 million, and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez for $ 7 million (not to mention Ollie for $ 6.5 million). That’s $ 48.8 million that the Mets will have if they also don’t re-sign Oliver Perez - which is very possible if he keeps pitching like he has and still demands a likely $10-15 million/year contract.

    So why not start looking into the future? I mean, last year when the Mets were ahead of the Phillies with about 20-25 games to go I told my friend that I would be happy with a playoff appearance. He told me that I was crazy and that he would be upset with anything less than a pennant. My judgments seem to be on point and my instincts are telling me now that I should be surprised if we manage to even make the playoffs. So why not start looking into the future? Of course everyone can say “Wait! We’re only three games below .500 and its only May.” But I would rather let those fans have their ignorance (and pain) and instead worry about the Wilpons getting on Omar to change his style or fire the crew and start over.

      You look at sites like metsblog.com and you see fan confidence polls near 30-40% for the team’s future, but we can’t be that pessimistic. Next year will be a whole new year…and if we sign Ollie then we’ve still got about $30-40 million to go out there and get that Mark Teixeira or the solid #3/4 starter. Right now I’m looking at the Mets like we did Anderson Hernandez…we can get that good young core that can compete for a pennant as soon as next season with the right signings (that positive being like his defense) and anything positive that comes out of this year is just gravy (like his offense). This could be our possible team for next year:

C – Brian Schneider

1B – Possibly Mark Teixeira

2B – Luis Castillo

SS – Jose Reyes

3B – David Wright

LF – Possibly Milton Bradley, Adam Dunn, Kevin Mench

CF – Carlos Beltran

RF – Ryan Church

SP – Johan Santana

Will Sommer's opinion:

Good lineup, but maybe give some of the young players in the minors a shot. Who knows maybe Nick Evans is our future 1B. Also every baseball person agrees that Fernando Martinez is a superstar in the making, and he will probably play left field. So instead of throwing money at Milton Bradley etc. Why not give Martinez, Mike Carp and others a shot in September?

Overrated Carlos Beltran?

Author: Russell Zanca

Carlos Beltran is a very good baseball player, but he is neither a superstar nor a player who will carry the Mets.

This man has fantastic fielding skills and is an above average hitter. If you look up swagger or toughness, I'm not so sure you would find a photo of Beltran next to the entry. What better characterizes Beltran is shyness and a seeming physical fragility. Most fans might agree that he is injury-prone.

Many Mets fans see him as an indispensable part of the team's core, but such an outlook should come under closer scrutiny. People were so excited about this guy mainly because he went on a HR-tear in the NLCS in 2004. The reality, however, is that he's a really streaky hitter. If he continues to be as underproductive as he has been with the team overall for the next month, the Mets seriously should consider trading him. This man is dispensable. Simply not a franchise player.

How Bad is Mike Pelfrey?

Author: Al Castrillon

Mike Pelfrey has shown some flashes of brilliance but is it enough to keep in the Majors?  Pelfrey was a highly touted draft pick in 2005 out of Wichita (9^th pick) ahead of Clay Buchholz, Matt Garza and Luke Hochevar, but because of contract negotiations, he did not throw for the Mets until 2006.    In 2006 he breezed through the system and managed to start 4 games for the big league club compiling a 2 and 1 record with a 5.48 ERA.    There were however some troubling signs; he was allowing 5.06 walks per game, striking out 5.48 batters per game with a 1.73 WHIP.  You can argue that such a young pitcher with so little experience under his belt just wasn’t ready. 

In 2007, he split his time between AAA and the majors.  In AAA he put up decent numbers (4.01 ERA, 3.16 walks per game, 6.81 strike outs per game and a 1.35 WHIP).  Unfortunately he did not fare that well in the majors posting almost identical numbers from 2006 (5.57 ERA, 4.83 walks per game, 5.57 strike outs per game and a 1.71 WHIP).

In 2008 he is currently enduring a 6 game losing streak and the METS have actually lost 7 straight when he starts.  His line so far, 5.33 ERA, 4.40 walks per game, 4.22 strikeouts per game and a 1.77 WHIP.

Some may try to defend his woeful record by  bringing up decent pitching performances against Washington and Cincy but these are sub .500 teams with mediocre offenses.  Against teams with above .500 records he has been shellacked.  Aside from only lasting 4 innings against the Marlins on Monday he only lasted 4 innings the previous start against the Braves.  In the last two starts he has only pitched a combined 8 innings and given up 10 earned runs on 14 hits and 6 walks while only striking out 5.  In fact in 6 games against opponents that are currently at .500 or better he has pitched 28 1/3 innings which averages to less than 5 innings a game during that span he has surrendered 26 earned runs on 43 base hits and 18 walks with only 10 strikeouts.   

Mike Pelfrey may eventually become a decent starter but you have to wonder how much all this losing is eroding his confidence and he may just need to go back to AAA once Pedro is ready which is hopefully sooner rather than later.   

Game Recap 5/25

Author: Will Hernandez

It only took a day for the New York Mets (23-25) to return to their losing ways as Aaron Cook pitched a complete game and the Colorado Rockies (20-30) won 4-1.

All you need to know about why the Mets lost this game came in the fourth inning. Jose Reyes continues to play with his head in the clouds. After Todd Helton walked with one out, Ryan Spilborgs hit a groundball right to Reyes to set up an easy 6-4-3 double play. For whatever reason, Reyes seemed to rush to get the ball in his glove and it right right between his leg. Obviously, that error should not have been made. Reyes has hit better this month, but he continues to make unbelievable mental mistakes on the field. He also got picked off first in the third inning after an RBI single to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

The second part of that fourth inning was John Maine's (5-4) pitch sequence to rookie Seth Smith. Maine's fastball has a tendency to tail away from lefthanded hitters. But for some reason Maine and Brian Schneider decided to pitch Smith inside. Maine nicked the inside corner for a strike on the first pitch, but Maine tried to go back in their later in the at-bat and got burned. His fastball caught too much of the plate and Smith hit his first major league home run, a three-run shot that essentially put the game away.

I don't know what Maine and Schneider were thinking there. The book usually says you go after rookies with breaking balls and off speed stuff. Even a minor leaguer can hit a fastball. If they couldn't, they would still be in the minors. So why try to get Smith out with inside fastballs? Granted, it's very hard to turn an inside fastball from Maine, but why not take the safe route and pitch the kid away? The only person in that lineup that should have beat the Mets today was Todd Helton. No one esle.

Besides that one mistake pitch, Maine looked ok. He battled back from a shaky first inning and settled into a groove. At one point, he threw a first pitch strike to seven of eight batters. But you could see his frustration after he walked Helton in the fourth on four straight pitches.

What can you saw about Cook (7-3)? The sinkerballer didn't allow the Mets to lift the ball into the air. The Mets made 16 groundball outs. A team is not going to score many runs like that.

As for the most meaningless stat to come out of this game: Carlos Beltran has now reached base in 28 straight games. The Mets record in that time? 12-16.

Now comes the interesting part. The Mets return home tomorrow to face the Florida Marlins. Obviously the fans at Shea Stadium is not going to welcome this team with open arms. And it will be interesting to see the reaction when Willie Randolph is announced. But this is a series where the Mets can get healthy. It's a chance to make up some ground in the standings. The Mets need to win the series. That's the bottom line. The Mets can only pick up a game in standings by winning two of three, but it's a start. But then you hope the Braves and Phillies lose two out of three as well. I think it's at the point of the season where you have to look at the standings. And try to look at the rest of the season in 20-game fragments. Is 12-8 good enough? It would put the Mets at 35-33. I think we would all like to see a 14-6 record in the next 20 games, but this team is going to have put together a four or five game winning streak to get that done.

 

Schmooze Time

Marlon Anderson Goes on DL

Author: Will Sommer (owner)       

Ben Shpigel of the NY Times is reporting that  Marlon Anderson who pulled a hamstring last night will be going on the DL. The Mets are expected to call up Nick Evans from AA Binghamton. For the complete article Click Here.

Evans is batting .292 with 8 HR and 31RBI's. He has never played in the major leagues. For him complete stat page Click Here.  I'm very excited to see Evans. He has great power, and supposedly he has a great glove. I always love to see rookies make their major league debut. Evans will be available for today's game, and I think he'll start in left field. People are saying that Nick Evans has a chance to be a very good major leaguer. Good luck Nick!

Game Recap 05/23

Author: Will Hernandez

The New York Mets (22-24) dropped their fifth straight game Friday night as Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies (19-29) single handedly beat them 6-5 in 13 innings. Holliday hit a walk-off single in the 13th inning off Aaron Heilman (0-1) and tied the game 5-5 in the ninth inning with a solo home run off Billy Wagner.

Marlon Anderson left the game in the fourth inning with what appeared to be a pulled left hamstring. He pulled up lame running out a ground ball out to shortstop. Fernando Tatis replaced him in left field and two hits, including a solo home run in the sixth inning to give the Mets a 4-2 lead.

The erratic and unpredictable side of Oliver Perez showed up for the Mets and it wasn't pretty. It actually could have been much worse than what it was. Perez walked a career-high 8 batters in 5+ innings. He walked the bases loaded in the fifth. In what was another questionable move by Willie Randolph, Perez started the sixth, but left the game with none out after allowing the first two runners to reach base. Joe Smith came on in relief and retired pinch hitter Chris Iannetta on a sacrifice bunt. But Clint Barmes hit a two-run double to tie the game 4-4.

The Mets took a 5-4 lead in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Jose Reyes that scored Endy Chavez, who lead off the inning with a single. He moved to third on a rare hit-and-run play that pinch hitter Damian Easley pushed past Garrett Atkins at third base. The Mets failed to add an insurance run in the ninth after Tatis led off with a single.

Wagner allowed his first earned run of the year when Holliday hit the first pitch he saw, a below-the-knees fastball, to centerfield for his seventh home run of the season.

The Mets had their golden chance in the 10th inning, but another mental mistake cost them. Reyes led off with a hustle double after he poked a shallow fly ball to right field. But Colorado pitcher Brian Fuentes picked off Reyes napping at second base.

The Mets came back from a 2-1 deficit in the sixth inning when Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer to center field. Tatis followed with his first home run since 2005.

Colorado took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first Atkins hit a two-run homer on a two-out, two-strike fastball from Perez. The Mets cut the lead in half on an RBI single by Luis Castillo.

David Wright continued to struggle with a 1-for-6 night and three strikeouts. He was way late on several of his swings and didn't show a good feel of the strikezone.

Scott Schoenweis earned his five hold of the season with a brilliant two innings of relief in the seventh and eighth. Duanar Sanchez pitched a perfect 10th inning.

Claudio Vargas takes the hill for the Mets Saturday against  , who had a sacrifice bunt in the 13th inning as a pinch hitter. Gametime is 3:55 p.m. on FOX.