Archive for June, 2011

The nice run by the Mets starters couldn’t last forever. Niese did not look good at all. He could not get handle on his best pitch, so the Angels gobbled up all the hanging curves they could get their bats on.

Mixed feelings about the Marlins asking for permission to talk to Wally Backman. Outside of managing the Mets, the Marlins would be a perfect gig for Wally. He wants to manage in the majors, and he is ripe and ready. The Marlins will not be offering anything more than a token salary, so the big time guys out there, will not be interested. The Marlins need their collectives heads banged together to knock some sense into them, and Wally would be perfect at it.

On the other hand, the Marlins are one of the Mets biggest rivals. There is no team the Marlins enjoy beating more than the Mets. When the Mets visit the Marlins, there are more Met fans at the park than Marlin fans. These two teams do not like each other.

Last year, the Mets asked the Marlins permission to talk to their assistant GM, and they were turned down. If the Mets really do have plans for Backman, they will say no, if they don’t have plans for him, don’t let a pissing contest hold back a man’s career.

Two tough losses on Thursday, and Friday night.

Mets had a golden opportunity in the bottom of the ninth on Friday. Two men on, no one out, and the next thing you know, three strike outs in a row.

For some reason or other, for the last four or five years, the Mets can not handle a rookie pitcher. Is it their scouting, or do they simply feel that since he is a rookie, they can beat him? Wish that they would do something about that.

Which Pelftey will show up tonight?

For one day, the Mets are a .500 team. That does generate some excitement due to the lack of enthusiasm heading into the 2011 season. It shows that the Mets are not a good team, but not a bad one either. Hopefully they can use .500 as a stepping stone, and not a ceiling.

Too bad Gee could not get the win last night. Granted the Braves did soak the field the night before, that stuff had been going on for years. It wasn’t the Braves idea to stop the game before it was an official game, it was the umpires. Some blogggers are stating that the Braves made the Mets play for nothing to screw up their rotation. Well, playing for nothing screws the Braves rotation as well, so I do not buy that crap.

Time will tell if Gee is the real deal or not. Gee could easily fall into the Beltran trap, because every thing he does is done smoothly and without any undue stress or emotions showing. Some feel that this is sign of not caring, I feel that it is a sign of being taught the game well. If he keeps going like this, he belongs on the All Star staff.

Speaking of All Stars, how about a write in campaign for Daniel Murphy at first base?

Due to a rookie mistake, and possibly, an overzealous umpire, who just learned a new trick, the Mets wasted a great effort by Mike Pelfrey. At one point he had retired fifteen in a row, without licking his fingers.

In the first inning, the base runner tried to decoy Pagan, trying to entice a throw to the wrong base. It fooled Reyes, who stayed in his position at short. The  runner crossed in front of Reyes, did not touch him, and barely swerved to avoid him. Next thing you know, the runner is safe at third and Reyes was given an error for obstructing the runner.

Bad base running by Pagan getting hung up between second and third, and by Duda, who declared himself an umpire, as well as a runner.

Free tickets are available for a game this season by heading over to Citi Field July 7th, between 10 and 5. All it costs you is a pint of blood. The ticket is for participating, so if you go, and it turns out that you are not able to donate, you still get your tickets. The last time I did this, I got some pretty good seats.

The Mets vs Pirates this weekend seems to be turning into a pivotal point in time for the Mets. They are working together, stringing two out base hits, and turning them into runs. The starting pitching is working into the eighth, keeping the pen fresh. Hitters are taking the opposing pitchers deep into counts, and they are being aggressive on balls that they can hit.

It would be nice to go into Atlanta with .500 winning percentage. In the past, Atlanta trips have been brutal, the orange and blue have come back black and blue all too often.

The focus is about what they are doing on the field now, not how the team will be constructed next season. They’re playing has upstaged all of the what ifs.

Pelfrey has looked sharp his last few outings. Would be nice for him to get a win, and get that inflated ERA down a bit. On paper, the pitching staff does not look that good, but something good is happening, because they are winning games.

During spring training, second base was a black hole. At least five players were trying to win the job, and everyone of them was flawed at best. The Mets had to choose between being shot, hung or poisoned.

With two of the five out of the picture, the Mets now have three players who could handle the position every day. Turner, Tejada and Murphy, each have strong arguments for winning the starting job.

If the Mets need pitching, or another bat, trading one of these guys may be the answer. All of them are young, and not being paid very much money. The upside on these kids would be appealing to many teams. These three get better, and smarter each day.

The Braves had a hard time with the knuckle ball last night, and Dickey pitched his second gem in a row. If I were a betting man, I would  have wagered a few bucks that Dickey thought here we go again after K Rod gave up a three run shot, allowing the runners left on by AAA+ pitcher Manny Acosta.

The Mets handled Tim Hudson last night, albeit, attacking him early in counts.

I was surprised that I enjoyed watching a game on ESPN. In the past, I hated when the Mets were on, Joe Morgan and Jon Mill-ER used to drive me crazy. Always seemed like  they had a few crib notes about the team, and read them when ever a situation was even remotely close to the one on the field.

Bobby V had some excellent points about the Mets payroll. They are not paying their catcher, second baseman,  middle relief, and first baseman very much money. And he reminded everyone that this is NYC, not Kansas City.

Long time between games, maybe I can get some work done while waiting for 8:10 Tuesday night.

Less than twenty four hours after Terry exploded, the Mets came through with their biggest comeback in ten years.

In a previous post, I mentioned that I expected Terry to explode by Memorial Day, guess my psychic clock was ahead a day, or maybe it was still on Lemurian time.

The Mets have been up and down all year long. They give us hope, and in the days following, they dash those hopes with throws to the wrong base; foul pops, and fly balls that never reach the fence.

The Mets rolled a hook strike down the alley, and the impact of that strike, will not be known until the next frame. Thursday’s game will only have an impact if it serves as a catalyst for a few more wins. Taking two out of three from the Braves, who almost always seem to beat the Mets at home, would be a great start.